London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

K-music 2018: SsingSsing, 2 October @Purcell Room

The 2018 K-Music festival opens with Lee Heemoon’s amazing glam-fusion band SsingSsing at the South Bank: SsingSsing Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX Tuesday 2 October 2018, 7:45pm Buy tickets SsingSsing have been making waves across the globe, bringing glam rock and funk elements together with a charismatic theatrical twist that takes inspiration from … [Read More]

K-music showcase at Rich Mix

A nice lineup of bands including a long-standing LKL favourite, 3rd Line Butterfly. Don’t miss it. 3rd Line Butterfly (3호선 버터플라이) | Gonne Choi (최고은) | Billy Carter (빌리카터) Thursday May 10th at 8:00pm (doors 7:30pm) Rich Mix – 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London, E1 6LA Tickets £9 to £10 are on sale now from: … [Read More]

Say Sue Me “Busan Calling” tour in UK

Say Sue Me return to the UK for a week-long tour in April, and will be back again for the Great Escape in May. Say Sue Me “Busan Calling” Tour dates in Glasgow (17th) Leeds (18th) London (19th) Coventry (20th) Chester (21st) Cardiff (22nd) Leicester (23rd) and Colchester (24th) Full details on the Say Sue … [Read More]

Neverland: Holland’s ground-breaking K-pop debut in context

Dr Colette Balmain discusses the controversial debut MV from Korea’s “first openly gay” KPOP idol. “Never lose self-esteem and be confident” (Holland, 2018) On 22st January 2018, at exactly midnight KST, Holland released his debut single and MV “Neverland”.  Since its release, “Neverland” has racked up over 6 million views on YouTube and Holland has … [Read More]

Made in Korea – the video

Kay Aplin of the Ceramic House in Brighton, who masterminded the Korea-UK Made in Korea ceramic collaboration last year, has completed a 20-minute video documentary of the project. Well worth a viewing in full: Please browse Kay’s blog of the whole project including the reciprocal exhibition at the Mullae Art Factory in Seoul. In England, … [Read More]

BTS featured in BBC K-pop documentary

Adele Roberts, who hosts BBC Radio 1’s Early Breakfast Show, thrilled UK K-pop followers and BTS Army members on 2 October 2017 when she played BTS for the first time on the BBC as part of a Best New Pop feature. That track, DNA, along with Mic Drop, have featured several times on the BBC … [Read More]

Documentary: the Jangmadang Generation

In January last year Sokeel Park from the NGO Liberty in North Korea gave a talk at Chatham House about the younger generation of entrepreneurs in North Korea, and other ways in which society is inexorably changing. Somewhere I’ve still got my notes and the handout from that talk – which I probably won’t get … [Read More]

Gig review: Park Jiha at King’s Place

Park Jiha brought the 2017 K-music festival to a close at King’s Place on 25 October with a mellow set of pieces taken from her album Communion which was deservedly shortlisted for the 2016 Korea Music Awards in both the Best Crossover Album and Best Jazz & Crossover Performance categories. Park is a versatile player, … [Read More]

Gig review: Heemoon Lee + Prelude

Last Sunday night we had the choice between two Korean performers, both known for their unusual dress sense and unique stage presence and more importantly both leaders in their respective fields. With one, the price tag was upwards of £60, for which you had to queue up at a large North London venue, submit to … [Read More]

Reports from the London Korean Festival 2017

LKL didn’t make it to this year’s London Korean Festival at Olympia. Saturdays are precious, and I needed to spend this particular Saturday at the KCC doing background research on the current exhibition and upcoming film series which hopefully will inform my write-ups. In-depth reports of the Festival are now available on a couple of … [Read More]