London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

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Selected publications

  • Booklist: Traditional Korean Music (15 titles)
    • Korean Arts Festival at St Johns Smith Square

      2023 is a special year for Korea and the UK. It is the 140th Anniversary of Korean-British Diplomacy and the 70th anniversary of armistice at the end of the Korean War. We welcome you to come and enjoy our performance of the Arts and Culture of Korea. Programme The first half of the concert will … [Read More]

      K-music 2023: JAMBINAI and LEENALCHI

      To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the K-Music Festival, the Korean music icons JAMBINAI and LEENALCHI are joining forces for an unforgettable double bill as part of the K-Music Festival in partnership with the EFG London Jazz Festival. This highly anticipated event promises to deliver a truly remarkable performance that will be cherished as a … [Read More]

      Five Senses of Korea: Ensemble La Mer et L’Île plays St John’s Smith Square

      Ensemble La Mer et L’Île Yeonwoo Choi / Kyu Jung Choi VIOLIN Hee Young Lee VIOLA Yun Cheong Boo VIOLINCELLO Soo Young Ko HAEGEUM Kyoung Min Park DAEGEUM Hwa Young Lee GAYAGEUM Percussion KYEONGHWA KOH Ji Hae Hong PIRI, SAENGHWANG Programme Britten – 3 Divertimenti for String Quartet Myung-Whun Choi – Sulbi-sori for Haegeum and String Quartet June-Hee Lim – Dokdo, Island of Five Senses, … [Read More]

      Onsemiro Hannuri Concert: Harmony for Peace

      온새미로 한누리 콘서트 Onsemiro Han-nuri Concert “Onsemiro Han-nuri” means ‘Whole, undivided, unbroken world’. Organised by The Peaceful Unification Advisory Council Europe, Middle East, Africa Provincial Assembly The Peaceful Unification Advisory Council in UK Ministry of Unification LKL says: we don’t know what to expect from this concert, and as far as I’m aware it has … [Read More]

      Ollah Life Peace Pilgrimage 2022

      The Korean Christian Bargn Nuri (밝은누리) community return to the UK for three performances of traditional folk music, song and dance on their Ollah Peace Pilgrimage. The Pungmul group 얼라(Ollah) is a group of students and graduates of Samil Haklim in Bargn Nuri community. The name “Ollah” has two main meanings. ‘Ollah’ means a ‘child’ … [Read More]

      K-Music Festival 2022: the official press release

      We’re excited at the line-up for this autumn’s K-Music Festival. Here are the full details, with links to the individual gig notices. K-MUSIC FESTIVAL 2022: Korea across London this autumn Wednesday 5 October – Thursday 24 November 2022 This autumn, as an exhibition ‘Hallyu! The Korean Wave’ opens at the V&A, the K-Music Festival, now … [Read More]

      Sheffield Korea Day 2022

      An annual celebration since 2018 (though I think there was an inevitable hiatus last year), this year’s Korea Day in Sheffield is on 12 March: We hear that the Shilla ensemble will be among the performers. Sheffield Korea Day 2022 Saturday 12 March 2022, 12 noon – 5pm The Octagon Centre | Clarkson Street | … [Read More]

      Interview: Cho Jungrae (The Singer, 2020)

      I watched Cho Jungrae’s 2020 movie The Singer earlier this year online, after being told by a friend of the director that it was available on Amazon Prime. It struck me as a fresh take on the pansori movie genre: instead of telling a pansori tale more or less straight like Im Kwon-taek’s Chunhyang, it … [Read More]

      Gallery: Chuseok celebrations at the British Museum

      The early Autumn brought two simultaneous Chuseok celebrations in the London area on 18 September: the harvest fest in New Malden, organised by KBCE, and a special event at the British Museum. Over the past months we’ve been starved of live music, and it was great to be able to hear the Shilla Ensemble perform … [Read More]

      Traditional Korean Music Workshop series

      The Korean Cultural Centre UK has announced a new Korean cultural course for spring/summer 2021. Musician and researcher Dr. Hyelim Kim will introduce various aspects of traditional Korean Music. This series of monthly talks will give you a chance to explore and gain an in-depth knowledge of traditional Korean music. Traditional Korean Music Workshop series … [Read More]

      K-music 2020 online: Jaram Lee

      The final show in the K-Music Encounters series features leading pansori singer, Jaram Lee, where she will discuss and perform The Old Man and The Sea, based on Ernest Hemingway’s masterpiece and recreated in pansori form. Lee goes back to the basics of pansori, and only with traditional Pansori linguistics and simple percussion, she brings … [Read More]

      K-music 2020 live: ADG7 CANCELLED

      I just got this email from King’s Place: Dear Patron, We regret to inform you that this event has been cancelled. Please see the below message from the show curators at Serious… ‘The ADG7 concert will be postponed until K-Music 2021 because of concerns about travelling at present. The rest of the K-Music 2020 programme … [Read More]

      Film Review: Love, Lies (Park Heung-sik, 2016)

      An historic album made by a hitherto unknown Korean popular music singer from the colonial period is literally unearthed in a modern-day construction site. Miraculously, although the LP is damaged, audio engineers can restore the sound to something like the original, for broadcast on a golden oldies radio show. But who is the singer, and … [Read More]

      Hyelim Kim w/ Australian Art Orchestra at the Vortex

      Back in 2011 we heard a collaboration between Hyelim Kim and Simon Barker at the KCC. Tomorrow brings a chance to see how that partnership has developed, with the welcome addition of Peter Knight. If it’s as good as last time, you’ll kick yourself if you miss it. Australian Art Orchestra Saturday 02 Novermber 2019, … [Read More]

      Review: Kokdu – a story of guardian angels

      The death of a grandmother in remote, rural Jindo becomes dramatically intertwined with a stage performance by dancers, court and folk musicians from the National Gugak Centre as they portray the journey of a soul in the afterlife. The unauthorised purchase of a Jindo puppy by her two grandchildren gets them entangled in the drama … [Read More]