It was glorious weather yesterday for Kingston’s Korean Harvest Fest – almost too hot for some of the energetic Kpop dancers and the visiting professionals from Korea. The ice cream sellers were doing brisk trade, as of course were the Korean food stalls that were set up down one side of the historic market place. … [Read More]
Category: Thames Festival
Kingston’s Korean Harvest Festival 2019
This year’s Kingston Korean Harvest Festival, organised by Korean British Cultural Exchange, forms part of the broader Kingston River Heritage Festival in partnership with Totally Thames. One of the strands of the Harvest Fest is a community dance project, which will be repeated the following day, Sunday 15 September, in the Scoop outside City Hall, … [Read More]
Boat Screening of The Host by Bong Joon-ho
Totally Thames this year is partnering with two organisations with Korean connections to provide some Korean cultural content for the river festival. Firstly, there’s Korean British Cultural Exchange, who organise the Kingston Korean Harvest Festival, who are bringing a community dance project to Kingston’s market square and to the Scoop outside City Hall on 14 … [Read More]
Kang Ik-joong’s Floating Dreams: the stories
As Kang Ik-joong said of his installation on the Thames: his motive in collecting drawings from the North Koreans displaced by the Korean War was actually to collect their stories. Here are some of those stories, as shared on the Totally Thames website. Park Yun Ok (age 95) http://totallythames.org/blog/floating-dreams-one-dream-many-stories “My name is Park Yun Ok. … [Read More]
Kang Ik-joong’s Floating Dreams for Korean reunification
Kang Ik-joong’s installation entitled Floating Dreams is a symbol of hope for the unification of Korea. Moored on the Thames outside Tate Modern, the installation is an assembly of 500 drawings in the shape of a cube – four square sides and a flat upper surface each featuring a grid of 10 x 10 pictures … [Read More]
Kang Ik-joong’s Floating Dreams installed on the Thames
For one reason or another, today at the office I had my eyes glued to my PC screen most of the day. I didn’t have much time to enjoy the view from my window, from where I can see the Thames around the Greenwich peninsula. Which meant that I managed to miss one of the … [Read More]
Event news: Kang Ik-joong’s floating installation for Totally Thames
New York based Korean artist Kang Ik-joong will have a work prominently displayed on the river by the Millennium Bridge as part of the Totally Thames festival this September. The official release from the Totally Thames website is reproduced below, and Yonhap has a report from today’s press launch in Seoul. Floating Dreams by Ik-Joong … [Read More]
Photos from All Eyes on Korea at the Thames Festival 2012
We didn’t manage to see all of the All Eyes on Korea Thames Festival events, but here’s a flavour of some of them… 1. The Kukkiwon Taekwondo demonstration team practising on the evening before the Festival. They wowed the audience on Saturday with an encore featuring PSY’s Gangnam Style. 2. CJ’s new restaurant, Bibigo, was … [Read More]
Contemporary K-art in front of Tate Modern at the Thames Festival
More details of the K-art stream in the wide-ranging Korean participation in the Thames Festival. And while you’re paying a visit, don’t forget to pop in to the Tate Modern itself, where Sung Hwan Kim has an amazing installation in the East Tank. ‘All Eyes on Korea’: Contemporary Korean Art and Family Workshops Saturday, 8th … [Read More]
All Eyes on Korea at the Thames Festival
The summer’s events come to an end with the Thames Festival, which coincides with the Chuseok season. As usual, Korea will be strongly represented, this time in a prestigious location just in front of Tate Modern. All Eyes on Korea at the Thames Festival Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 September 2012, 12 – 10pm A … [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]
Highlights of the Thames Festival
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]
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]