Category: News and Current Affairs

Julie Park wins Sir Karl Jenkins Music Award

posted updated 26 Nov 2020 by 앤서방 < 1 minute read

Belated congratulations to London based violist Julie Park for winning the prestigious Arts Club Sir Karl Jenkins Award in October. She follows violinists Songha Choi, who won second prize in 2019, and Joo Yeon Sir who won the prize in 2014. Julie Park performs tomorrow in Korean Cultural Centre UK’s ‘Home Theatre’ season of online […]

Shin Seung-tae’s new Trot persona

posted updated 29 Nov 2020 by 앤서방 < 1 minute read

When Lee Hee Moon announced the disbandment of his glam rock minyo outfit Ssing Ssing last year, I forewent gnashing of teeth and rending of garments, prophesying instead that an abundance of interesting projects must surely follow. And Lo, it did come to pass. Female vocalist Chu Da-hye started her band, Chudahye and The Chagis […]

Eat Out to Help Out your local Korean Restaurant

posted by Philip Gowman 3 minute read

In these terrible times, when people are too nervous to venture out onto public transport, still less to their local restaurants, I’ve been fearing that some of my own favourite haunts may not survive the crisis. As you may know, to try to encourage people back to restaurants and to save a vital part of […]

V+A Korean programme receives boost from MCST

posted by Philip Gowman 2 minute read

Great news for the V&A’s programme of Korean activities and gallery: V&A announces landmark partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 17 June 2020: The V&A has today announced a new five-year partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Korea. This major grant will enable the redevelopment of the museum’s […]

KJOU: the new UK hallyu mag

posted by Philip Gowman 2 minute read

Over on the KCC Facebook page they recently posted about a new hallyu magazine: KJOU. I visited the magazine’s website today and ordered myself a copy of their first issue. If you’re interested, there are a few copies left, but as the second issue is imminent don’t hesitate because they’ll be gone soon. Of course, […]

Korea Society Webcast: Korean Election Analysis

event date Fri 17 Apr 2020 posted

Stanford University Professor Gi-Wook Shin joins Korea Society Senior Director Stephen Noerper for a timely breakdown of the April 15 Korean legislative elections. Professor Shin, Director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Director of Korean Studies, and William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea, examines the voice of the electorate and impact of the National […]

Bora Kwon interviewed in the Guardian

posted by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

Bora Kwon, Labour councillor for Hammersmith and Fulham, and one of only two councillors of Korean background in the UK, gets a nice interview in the Guardian this week. She talks about her life in the UK, politics and of course health. Read the interview in full here. You can follow Councillor Kwon on Twitter […]

KCCUK announces temporary closure to the public

posted by Philip Gowman < 1 minute read

Along with many other cultural venues, the KCCUK has announced its decision “to suspend or cancel our public programme, courses and events (music concerts, film screenings, literature and education programmes) effective immediately, until further notice”. They say that “[we] hope that we can resume our programme from Mid-April”. Let’s keep fingers crossed but I fear […]

Book review: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

posted updated 28 Dec 2020 by Philip Gowman 4 minute read

Cho Nam-joo: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 Translated by Jamie Chang Scribner, 2020, 163pp Originally published as 82년생 김지영, Minumsa, 2016. Kim Jiyoung, as the blurb on the back cover of this translated novel tells us, is every woman. Her given name is unremarkable, familiar, and of course her family name is the most common in […]

Wolfson College workshop: Korea’s Strategy – Economic Success, Popular Culture, and Global Art CANCELLED

event date Fri 20 Mar 2020 posted

Another Covid-19 casualty. This conference is postponed and will hopefully be reconvened at a later date. Wolfson College Oxford is hosting an afternoon workshop on topical themes related to South Korea. Korea’s Strategy: Economic Success, Popular Culture, and Global Art Friday 20 March 2020, 1pm – 4pm Wolfson Auditorium | Wolfson College | Linton Road […]

Korea beyond the headlines: the 2020 LSESU Korea Future Forum

posted by Claire H. Evans 5 minute read

Claire Evans, a member of the LSE Student Union’s Korea Future Association, introduces this Saturday’s conference. The LSE Student Union’s Korea Future Association takes pride in being the largest student-run organisation in the world dedicated to discussion of Korean peninsula issues. Its annual conference, the Korea Future Forum, brings together leading experts from around the […]

Glittering Hands screens at SOAS

event date Wed 29 Jan 2020 posted

SOAS Korean Social and Environmental Justice Society host a moving documentary that will appeal to those who loved Planet of Snail. You can watch an Arirang interview with the director here. Glittering Hands 반짝이는 박수소리 + director Bora Lee-Kil Q&A Wednesday, 29 January 2020 at 18:30 SOAS | Thornhaugh Street | London WC1H 0XG Room […]