In 2025, the Korean Cultural Centre UK proudly launches K-Art Lab — an initiative dedicated to exploring the future of Korean art through immersive and experimental digital media. Discretely housed within the Centre, K-Art Lab is a dedicated exhibition space where visitors can experience Korean cultural heritage through cutting-edge technology. The space features interactive digital … [Read More]
Category: News and Current Affairs
BKS “Two Ambassadors” event
The British Korean Society’s (almost) annual opportunity to hear in person from the British Ambassadors in Seoul and Pyongyang has been set for 6pm on Wednesday 2nd July. The event will be a joint venture with Chatham House, and will take place in the main hall of Chatham House (10 St James’s Square, London SW1Y … [Read More]
Voices from North Korea: Music & Talk
Join Freedom Speakers International on June 14 from 5-7 pm in Raynes Park, London, for an inspiring evening of personal stories and live music at Voices from North Korea: Music & Talk. North Korean refugee speakers will talk about their lives growing up in North Korea and their journeys to freedom, offering rare first-hand insights … [Read More]
The US-Japan-ROK Triangle: Lessons from Pythagoras
The Camp David Accords lay the foundation for a long-overdue alignment of the United States, Japan, and South Korea as they each grapple with the implications of China’s rise, emerging threats to regional peace and security, and growing challenges to the liberal democratic order. Leadership Changes in Washington and Seoul call into question the stability … [Read More]
K-Seminar: When AI Meets XR for Cultural Heritage
How can cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR) transform our understanding of cultural heritage? In this special K-Seminar, Professor Timothy Jung (Chair Professor of XR, Manchester Metropolitan University) will explore how AI and XR are converging to open new possibilities for preserving, interpreting, and experiencing cultural assets. Through innovative examples—especially from … [Read More]
[Oxford] Discussion: K-Pop, AI, and the Future of Global Music
How is artificial intelligence reshaping the sound of tomorrow – and what does it mean for the future of K-Pop in an increasingly digital world? Join us for a special event featuring one of Korea’s most influential composers and music producers, Professor Hyung-Suk Kim (Academic Visitor at Kellogg College), in conversation with Professor Jieun Kiaer … [Read More]
Ilrhan Kim’s “Edhi Alice” closes 2025 Queer East festival
In Edhi Alice (에디 앨리스, 2024), director and queer activist Ilrhan Kim interrogates how documentaries about trans communities are made: the creative decisions, relationships, and ethical questions involved. The subject of the documentary is Edhi, who works as a counsellor for LGBTQ+ teens in Seoul, and has decided to undertake gender reassignment surgery. Edhi’s story intertwines … [Read More]
The ROK-UK Strategic Partnership for the Future
At a time of acute global and regional uncertainty, former Foreign Minister, Park Jin will reflect on the urgent need and the key opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Dr Park has a long history of engagement with the United Kingdom, having taken a degree in … [Read More]
[Preston] DPRK exhibition: The echo never stops
While the world enjoys the cultural explosion of K-pop, K-dramas, and the vibrant expression of Korean creativity, North Korea remains a stark contrast—a country left behind with the cloaked society. In North Korea, words can lead to imprisonment, and access to information is a dangerous privilege. Given this, the International Institute of Korean Studies at … [Read More]
Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet – the perfect opening to BFI Flare 2025
BFI Flare launched yesterday with a humdinger of an opening movie: Andrew Ahn’s reimagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 The Wedding Banquet. Ahn’s partner in creating this update, James Schamus, also co-wrote Ang Lee’s version. While the original film features a single gay couple and a marriage of convenience, the reboot has two gay couples, which … [Read More]
Remembering ‘Comfort Women’: Politics of memory and international perspectives
Co-hosted by SOAS and the Northeast Asian History Foundation, this conference brings together prominent scholars on the “comfort women” issue and broader topics of wartime sexual violence, along with expert discussants from a variety of relevant fields. In an era where historical revisionism and political tensions increasingly shape narratives of the past, this event provides … [Read More]
SOAS seminar: Recording memories of human rights violations in North Korea
The human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea or DPRK) is exceptionally challenging to address externally, as the population remains isolated from the international community and lacks an independent civil society to advocate for people’s rights. Despite these difficulties, the situation has been captured and documented primarily through the ‘voices’ … [Read More]
Korean films at BFI Flare 2025
This year at BFI Flare we have three films by Korean directors and one by a Korean American. The latter – The Wedding Banquet by director Andrew Ahn – has been chosen to open the festival and includes Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung among the cast. Londoners were introduced to Andrew Ahn’s work at Queer East last … [Read More]
Understanding South Korea’s Political Crisis: Martial Law, Impeachment and Populist Politics
A Roundtable on Contemporary South Korean Politics Speakers: Jang Kyung-tae (Democratic Party of Korea), Kim Jaesub (People Power Party), Lee Jaeyoung (People Power Party). Chair: Dr John Nilsson-Wright Following President Yoon Suk-Yeol’s surprise announcement of martial law on December 3, 2024, South Korean politics has been plunged into a period of great political uncertainty and … [Read More]
The Postdevelopmental State: Dilemmas of economic democratization in contemporary South Korea
Dr Doucette will introduce his recently published book on the politics and political economy of contemporary South Korea – a book that is even more topical in the current political crisis the country is facing. This book is a major contribution to both Korean and East Asian Political Economy across a number of different disciplines. … [Read More]
North Korea: Human rights, security and beyond
Please join the Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics for a panel discussion involving representatives of the Republic of Korea’s Institute for National Unification (KINU), and leading UK Korea specialists. The discussion will consider the human rights’ situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the wider issue of how international law might be used … [Read More]