The Korea Design pavilion now seems to be an established feature of the 100% Design London exhibition at Earls Court. Each year we see a mixture of familiar design names and also some new faces. Beyond the official KIDP-sponsored pavilion (shown above) you can usually find some independent Korean designers who have either made their … [Read More]
Category: Festivals (page 43)
Korean Films at the 55th BFI London Film Festival
Two Korean films will be screening as part of the 55th BFI London Film Festival this month: Hong Sang-soo makes his regular appearance, while Kim Kyung-mook’s Stateless Things centres on the life of a North Korean illegal immigrant in Seoul. Hong Sang-soo: The Day He Arrives Fri 14 Oct | 20:45 | NFT 2 Sun … [Read More]
The LKFF 1-minute mobile phone short film competition
A special event for budding Park Chan-wooks out there: The London Korean Film Festival presents The One Minute Mobile Phone Short Film Competition Over the last two years there has been a boom in mobile phone technology which the filmmaking community has whole heartedly embraced. The use of camera phones and other mobile equipment particularly … [Read More]
Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon – the historical background
Kim Han-min’s Arrow the Ultimate Weapon is a high-energy historical action flick which will get the London Korean Film Festival 2011 off to a rip-roaring start. Without revealing too much about the plot, suffice it to say that enough baddies get what they deserve to make you feel reasonably good on emerging from the cinema. … [Read More]
Kim Han-min interview: history, resistance and the Korean spirit
Kim Han-min talks in depth about Arrow: The Ultimate Weapon, exploring Korean history, genre balance, sound design, and the recurring themes linking his work to Paradise Murdered and Handphone. [Read More]
Festival visit: Korea Calling at the Thames Festival 2011
Korea Calling this year was very well attended. The two-day event near the South Bank’s OXO Tower (Saturday September 10/Sunday September 11) formed part of the Thames Festival. This was the event’s fifth year, and there were plenty of features on when I visited on the Sunday. At the centre of Korea Calling was a … [Read More]
In pictures: Highlights of the Thames Festival 2011
The Sookmyung Gayageum Orchestra playing Wondergirls and SNSD. And their amazing body-popping dancer The Kukkiwon Taekondo demo team performing in the pouring rain. Amazing that no-one broke their neck The crazy K-pop lovers in their noraebang tent singing along to their favourite K-pop tunes The amazing enthusiasm & energy of the seemingly hundreds of young … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival Announces 2011 Programme
Last night we were treated to a special preview screening of the opening film of this year’s London Korean Film Festival: Kim Han-min’s high-energy historical action film Arrow the Ultimate Weapon. It will get the festival off to a rip-roaring start, as The Man from Nowhere did last year. So the publicity campaign for the … [Read More]
Korea Design at 100% Design London 2011
Once again this year Korean designers will have their own pavilion at 100% Design London to showcase the range of design talent. There are often some independent Korean designers, too, in their own stalls. 100% Design London runs 22-25 September 2011 at Earls Court. Here are the details of the exhibitors in the Korean pavilion: … [Read More]
The many attractions of Sancheong County at the Thames Festival and beyond
This year, as for the past four years, Korea will be heavily represented at the Thames Festival. But this year, for the first time, the Korean village will host some stalls from parts of the country outside of Seoul. The regions all have particular unique characteristics to attract people to visit. Jeju-do, still in the … [Read More]
Family Ties with Director Q&A at the KCC
Last year the Thames Festival provided the opportunity for a couple of collateral events in the form of concerts by Winterplay and Baramgot. This year, director Kim Tae-yong is over for the screening of the restored silent film Crossroads of Youth, and will stay to answer questions after the KCC’s screening on Monday of his … [Read More]
Donguibogam to feature at the Thames Festival
2013 will see the 400th anniversary of the first publication of the Donguibogam, the most precious book in traditional Korean medicine (TKM). There will be a commemorative World Traditional Medicine EXPO (known as Donguibogam EXPO) in Sancheong in 2013 (6 September — 20 October, 45 days) to celebrate this anniversary. Sancheong County, at the foot … [Read More]
Stories of the River – Thames Festival family events at the KCC
While the main part of Korea Calling at the Thames Festival is taking place by the OXO Tower, the KCC has arranged some child-friendly activities at the cultural centre itself, 11am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Plenty to keep the young ones happy. And I highly recommend Sef Townsend’s storytelling. I’m sure you’ll be allowed in … [Read More]
Crossroads of Youth: Korea’s oldest silent film comes to stage at the Thames Festival
This coming weekend sees the return of The Mayor of London’s Thames Festival, celebrating the diverse range of culture and art that inhabits London. As in previous years, Korea is represented by the Korean Cultural Centre UK hosting fun and exciting events at the OXO Tower. This year the KCCUK and Korean Film Archive are … [Read More]
Korea Calling at the Thames Festival 2011
Korea returns to the Thames Festival this year (10-11 September) with a range of entertainments. The Taekwondo demonstrations are always popular, plus this year there’s the Sookmyung Gayageum Orchestra. If you’ve ever heard a Beatles number performed on massed Gayageums, you were probably listening to these ladies. They’ve also been known to accompany B-boys, which … [Read More]
Festival visit: Gaksi, Mago
In Korean mytholoogy there is a legendary grandmother figure, a giant goddess who created islands and arranged the mountains and the oceans in their proper positions. In Jeju Island, she is known as Seolmundae Halmang – Grandmother Seolmundae; elsewhere in Korea she is known as Mago. The stories about her are sometimes comic, sometimes tragic. … [Read More]