Well, if you can’t reminisce on your website’s 10th birthday, when can you? Here’s a collection of some of my favourite London memories of the past 10 years (and one or two from slightly further afield). Some of the moments lived up to expectation: a front row seat at a performance by K-pop ballad diva Lee … [Read More]
Musician: Baramgot
Event news: Korea Moves – with Tim Garland @ London Jazz Festival
Last year at the KCC we had an interesting jazz / gugak fusion concert. Coming soon as part of the London Jazz Festival, a concert in which the emphasis is more likely to be on the jazz, but with participation from the Tori Ensemble‘s Heo Yoon-jeong (whom we saw at the KCC last February) and … [Read More]
Fashion, food and music: Korea Shining Bright with Lie Sang Bong at the V&A
It’s not often that an honour guard in Joseon dynasty costume greets you as you enter a London public building. In fact the last time I can recall it happening was at the celebration of Korean food and fashion at the Banqueting House in 2009. And at the Victoria and Albert Museum on 30 July … [Read More]
Concert Notes: All Eyes on Baramgot at the Purcell Room
I had expected the five-piece ensemble Baramgot (바람곶) to provide a solid evening of traditionally folk-inspired Korean music. Having attended a number of traditional Korean music performances before, I had a fairly clear idea of what I was in for, and I was looking forward to it. The 75 minute programme consisted of seven items, … [Read More]
Korean Music Ensemble Baramgot at the Purcell Room
LKL is a great fan of Baramgot, and they return to the South Bank with the added attraction of crossover haegeum player Ccotbyel. Not to be missed. Korean Music Ensemble Baramgot Date: 29 July 2012, 7:45pm Venue: Purcell Room Baramgot return to Southbank Centre led by Won Il, bringing a fresh approach to the mystical … [Read More]
All Eyes on Korea: mark your diaries for the concerts at the end of July
There’s some very special events coming up in a month’s time. Jennifer has raved about Gong Myoung before, and I rave about Baramgot whenever I can, they are so amazing. If the rest of the line-up matches these two acts, you’d be mad to miss any of them. Buy those tickets now. All Eyes on … [Read More]
The London Korean Links Awards 2010
LKL’s fifth unscientific selection of people and events who have made 2010. Personality of the Year No question about this: Kim Yu-na. Olympic champion, 5th-highest earning female sportsperson globally, ambassador for everything from the G20 to the Catholic Church. I’m sure if she ran for president she’d get elected. Albums of the Year Four LKL … [Read More]
A review of the London Korean Year 2010
LKL tries to sum up the London Korean cultural year. Live music Possibly the most disappointing thing about 2010 has been the number of top-flight Korean musicians who have been passing through London but not stopping to do a sensible gig there. Biuret played at a private industry showcase before heading off to Southampton – … [Read More]
Concert notes: Baramgot at the South Bank
When Baramgot visited London two years ago they played to a sparsely populated mediaeval church in the middle of the Barbican complex. This year, the performance was in the more comfortable environment of the Purcell Room, and the audience was much bigger. What we gained in comfort was somewhat lost in atmosphere – the echoing … [Read More]
LKL reports from the Thames Festival 2010
2010 is Korea’s fourth year of participation in the Thames Festival, and each year the participation seems to get more ambitious. This year, the location moved from Tower Bridge, where there are possibly fewer punters strolling by, to the high-profile Jubilee Gardens, under the shadow of the London Eye, where the crowds are much more … [Read More]
This weekend: Korea at the Thames Festival
A reminder of the timetable for the Korean events by the London Eye this weekend. Weather is forecast to be better on Sunday. All timings approximate and subject to change. Saturday 11 September: 12:00 – Taekwondo demo 13:00 – Taekwondo workshop 13:30 – BreakOut (Extreme Dance Comedy) 14:30 – B-boy experience 15:00 – Winterplay jazz … [Read More]
Baramgot at the South Bank
Baramgot’s Barbican concert in 2008 was undoubtedly the live performance of the year. Won Il’s creative traditional Korean music ensemble are in town this weekend to perform at the Thames Festival, and will be staying to give a concert at the Purcell Room on 13 September. Too often the reinvention of traditional music can turn … [Read More]
All Eyes on Korea at the Thames Festival 2010
Returning to the Festival for a fourth year, the Korean Cultural Centre UK present All Eyes on Korea, a celebration of Korean culture in Jubilee Gardens. Leading talents from a wide range of Korean arts and cultural groups have been selected and include extreme dance comedy from Break Out – an energetic extravaganza, returning to … [Read More]
Jang Sun-woo season: “A Petal” to screen at KCC
Back in October 2008, a creative Korean traditional music group called Baramgot, led by composer-musician Won Il, gave a sparsely attended concert at St Giles Church Cripplegate. It was their first UK performance, and no-one knew quite what to expect. They blew us all away with their haunting, atmospheric music, and the concert was one … [Read More]
The London Korean year 2008 – events of the year
It’s been a busy year, a year of change. A new cultural centre, a re-launched Artists’ Association, new ambassadors in both London and Seoul. Jane Portal left the British Museum for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, while Michael Shin became the first full-time Korean Studies lecturer at Cambridge. Down in New Malden, things … [Read More]
Concert notes: Baramgot at St Giles — event of the year?
It was a typical wet autumn evening in the Barbican, and inside St Giles’s church it was a little bit chilly. The audience was a touch thin on the ground – some of the regular followers of Korean cultural events will have been at the gala opening of the Korean film festival 5 minutes walk … [Read More]