“Korean traditional instruments contain the sound of nature.” This is the opening line of Ha Suyean’s answer to my question regarding what Dal:um would like their international audience to know about ancient Korean instruments gayageum and geomungo. “For someone coming to these two ancient instruments for the first time, what will they discover?”, I had … [Read More]
Organisation or venue: South Bank
K-Music 2021: Soojin Suh Coloris Trio & Camilla George
I know I should no longer be surprised at how well these collaborations work, but last year’s online meeting between Soojin Suh and Kit Downes was really rather good, so I’ll certainly be attending this gig, the last of the 2021 K-music festival. Soojin Suh Coloris Trio & Camilla George Wednesday 17 November 2021, 7:45pm … [Read More]
K-Music 2021: Dal:um
Dal:um are a Seoul-based musical duo who challenge the sonic possibilities of Korea’s most well-known traditional string instruments: Dal:um Saturday 6 November 2021 7:45pm, Southbank Centre / Purcell Room | Belvedere Road | London SE1 8XX | Buy tickets Monday 8 November 2021 8pm Norwich Arts Centre | 51 St Benedict’s Street | Norwich NR2 … [Read More]
Igudesman & Joo play the Royal Festival Hall
Igudesman & Joo’s performance in the Cadogan Hall was one of LKL’s highlights of 2012. I think we all need a bit of cheering up at the moment, and these are the guys to do it. Don’t miss their Festival Hall appearance next week: Igudesman & Joo Wednesday 4 March 2020, 7:30pm Royal Festival Hall, … [Read More]
Gallery: Joo Yeon Park’s Library of the Unword
As described in the exhibition notice, Joo Yeon Park’s Library of the Unword and its central piece Twenty Times a Thousand (2019) is inspired by Beckett’s poem Echo’s Bones. According to the artist, Echo in Beckett’s poem Echo’s Bones (1935) refers to the nymph in Ovid’s Metamorphoses who is punished by Juno so that she … [Read More]
Snowpiercer screening w/ Bong Joon-ho + Tilda Swinton Q+A
Tickets go on sale today (for BFI members) for a rare screening of Snowpiercer. Non-members can buy from tomorrow. Snowpiercer Dir Bong Joon-ho (2013, 126min) With Tilda Swinton, Chris Evans, Song Kang Ho, Ed Harris, John Hurt + Q&A with director Bong Joon-ho and Tilda Swinton Sunday 1 March 2020, 7:20pm NFT Screen 1 | … [Read More]
A review of the Korean cultural year 2019
A review of some of the highlights and trends in the Korean cultural year, primarily in London but also with half an eye to anything we might have seen elsewhere in the UK. The review is a personal one, inevitably skewed towards the events we managed to get to. Introduction This time last year I … [Read More]
Joo Yeon Park’s Library of the Unword, at the National Poetry Library
National Poetry Library | Level 5, Blue side | Royal Festival Hall 5 December 2019 – 29 March 2020 | Admission free Joo Yeon Park’s Library of the Unword commemorates the 30th anniversary of Samuel Beckett’s death. The exhibition features an installation, Twenty Times a Thousand (2019), in response to Beckett’s poem ‘Echo’s Bones’ (1935). The work comprises over … [Read More]
Gig review: Kyungso Park, SB Circle + Hey String
Isn’t it refreshing when a band exceeds expectations? When you were expecting something pretty good, and you get something astoundingly good. When the newbie support band has the class to headline their own gig. OK, to call the gayageum trio Hey String a newbie band neglects to mention their success as prizewinners in Seoul Namsan … [Read More]
Jambinai launches K-music 2019 with explosive force
Call me a grouch, but when you need both ear plugs and a blindfold to survive a gig in any degree of comfort you have to start questioning the wisdom of some of the sound and lighting judgments. Ear plugs, handed out for free at the entrance to Jambinai’s Purcell Room gig that opened K-music … [Read More]
K-music 2019: Black String, 18 Nov @ Purcell Room
Based on Black String’s latest album release, Karma, this closing concert could be the highlight of the festival. The concert is also part of the London Jazz Festival line-up. K-music 2019: Black String Monday 18 November 2019, 7:45pm Southbank Centre / Purcell Room | Belvedere Road | London SE1 8XX Tickets £15 + booking fee … [Read More]
K-music 2019: Kyungso Park: SB Circle + Hey String, 29 Oct @Purcell Room
Kyungso Park returns to London with her new ensemble, a collaboration with saxophonist Shin Hyunpil. Kyungso Park: SB Circle + Hey String Tuesday 29 October 2019, 7:45pm Southbank Centre / Purcell Room | Belvedere Road | London SE1 8XX Tickets £15 + booking fee | Book tickets A Southbank Centre takeover pushing gayageum to its … [Read More]
K-music 2019: Jambinai, 3 October @Purcell Room
Jambinai open the 2019 K-music festival as part of their six-city England tour. K-music 2019: Jambinai Thursday 3 October 2019, 7:45pm Southbank Centre – Purcell Room | Belvedere Road | London SE1 8XX Tickets £15 + booking fee | Book tickets Jambinai present Korean traditional music in a new and innovative way, with their ground-breaking post-rock … [Read More]
Kim Hyesoon and Don Mee Choi in National Poetry Library Lates
An evening of poetry from two South Korean poets at the Hayward Gallery: National Poetry Library Lates: May Wednesday 1 May 2019, 8pm Hayward Gallery | Dan Graham Waterloo Sunset Pavilion Approximate run time: 120 mins Tickets £10 + booking fee | Book tickets here Our new series of late-night poetry salons continues with two … [Read More]
Brief review: Crossroads of Youth
Crossroads of Youth, Korea’s earliest surviving feature-length movie, was a great way to start the season of films from Korea’s colonial period. It is a season that could not have taken place 15 years ago, because these films have only recently come to light in the film archives of Beijing, Moscow and Tokyo. Crossroads of … [Read More]
Lee Chang-dong’s Burning – Theatrical release
Lee Chang-dong’s Burning (2018) gets a UK theatrical release, from Thunderbird Releasing, in the run-up to the Oscars, for which it is shortlisted in the best foreign film category. In London it has a run at the BFI, among other venues, from 1 February. The evening screening on 5 February is followed by a Critics … [Read More]