London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

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 Human Comedy – the cinema of Hong Sangsoo, at the ICA

Since the last UK retrospective of his work in 2010, South Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo has made an astonishing twenty-two feature films and several shorts. With his incisive and humorous explorations of infidelity, artistic endeavour, and communication (or lack thereof), Hong’s narratively concise and formally radical work has marked him out as not only contemporary … [Read More]

Screening: Voices of the Silenced (UK Premiere)

This film delves into the historical experiences of Park Soo-nam, born in colonial-era Japan, retracing the journey and the history of Zainichi Koreans in Japan. Through the lens of two 16mm documentary films shot since 1985 and the restoration of unreleased footage, spanning 100,000 feet, it resurrects the testimonies of witnesses. The film raises questions … [Read More]

UK screening premiere: Regardless of Us, at the ICA

Formally inventive and filled with striking monochrome compositions Regardless of Us is a complex and mysterious journey into the nature of memory, performance, and the very structures of reality. Featuring a rich and intriguing utilisation of off-screen space, Yoo’s tale of an actress attempting to recover her memory following a severe illness subtly probes at … [Read More]

Okkyung Lee: Live at the ICA

Presenting a rare London appearance by South Korean composer and improviser Okkyung Lee, whose extended use of the cello moves freely between artistic disciples and contingencies, creating vast sonic landscapes across noise, jazz, western classical, as well as her homeland’s traditional and popular music. The artist’s unique approach to her instrument has seen acclaimed releases … [Read More]

Event news: The Promised Land screens at the ICA

Anna miyoung Kim continues her work looking at the hidden costs of economic development with a film screening of The Promised Land. The screening is free, but registration is essential via [email protected]. The Promised Land Human Rights of Migrant Workers Köken Ergun | Kyongju Park | Santiago Sierra | Ekta Mittal and Yashiswini Raghunandan Wednesday … [Read More]

Planet of Snail: “one of the most life-affirming viewing experiences I’ve ever had” says Twitch

If like me you were bored by the recent release of Kim Ki-duk’s self-indulgent documentary and professional suicide note Arirang, you can expect something a lot better from Yi Seung-jun’s documentary Planet of Snail. If the K-pop bash at the Dome this Saturday is not your thing, a civilised time can be had at the … [Read More]