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]
Category: Festivals (page 43)
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]
Edinburgh Festival and Fringe 2011: review round-up
I didn’t make it to all the Korea-related events at the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe, and for one of the events I did get to I didn’t feel like writing a review. So here are some links to the reviews that are out there. For completeness, I include links to my own reviews. If … [Read More]
Festival visit: Pop-Up! The Amazing Adventures of Moo Dong
Confession time: I didn’t actually make it to this show. It is showing in the morning, and that’s when my train is on its way up from London. But based on the reviews linked below, it’s well worth a visit. The show aims to bring great art works to life for a young audience, and … [Read More]
Festival visit: Perfordian Factory – Babbling Comedy 2
Babbling Comedy continues the fine tradition of non-verbal Korean acts which appeal to audiences of all ages. On paper, the performance contains little that seems innovative; and it would take a courageous producer to take on a comedy show that promises, as this one does, to include some hand-bell ringing. But in the overall context … [Read More]
Festival visit: Mokhwa Repertory Company – The Tempest
At his press conference in London last Monday, Oh Tae-seok spoke about his work with the Mohkwa Repertory Company. One of the priorities of Master Oh, who had spend many years as director of Korea’s National Theatre company, is to nurture the next generation of actors. And one of the pleasures of working with his … [Read More]
Festival visit: Jasmine Gwangju
Gwangju seems an event from the distant past, but in fact was only 31 years ago. This year, the archives which document the history of that brief uprising were listed by UNESCO in their Memory of the World register. With perfect timing, bearing in mind the democratic uprisings in the Arab world this year, the … [Read More]
FT asks for Unsuk Chin
The FT reviews Seoul Philharmonic / Chung Myung-whun playing Debussy and Ravel on DG, a release which coincides with their debut at the Edinburgh Festival http://t.co/Tf9s3on # The playing has precision and delicacy, showcased in the Mother Goose suite, but also the machine-like evenness characteristic of Asian orchestras. La Mer and La Valse are too … [Read More]
Photos from the Kingston Festival
Some snaps from today’s Kingston Korean Festival, on Michael Rank’s Flickr account. Let me know if anyone else has any. http://t.co/YBJYlfJ # [Read More]
A Korean Tempest: Sympathy from Mr Vengeance
Those who are familiar with Korean cinema will not need to be told that vengeance is a familiar topic, and indeed forms the theme for Park Chan-wook’s unplanned trilogy of films of which the best known is Oldboy. And probably many an essay has been written in Film Studies classes as to why Korean directors … [Read More]