One of the more fun programmes on UK terrestrial TV right now is the reality show Glow Up, in which would-be professional make-up artists compete against each other. Every week a different guest celebrity make-up artist joins the show to critique the work of the contestants. This week, Episode 5, the show was graced by […]
April events 2019
It’s looking like a slightly quieter month this month, though things have a habit of springing up at the last minute. Look out for events related to the 5th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, of which there are a few in the planning but not yet finalised. Exhibitions Haegue Yang’s Tracing Movement is at […]
Embodiment, Performativity and Subjectivity: The Best of BTS’s Music Award Show Stages
Winning end-of-year music award shows is important for Korean idols and groups as it helps to cement their importance and popularity not only in Korea but across East and South East Asia. This is demonstrated by the fact that MAMA 2018 – one of the biggest music shows – took place across multiple countries with […]
Welcome to LKL v6
Earlier this year, my brain decided that sometime during 2019 it would rebuild the LKL website from the ground up. The rest of me didn’t have a choice in the matter. The decision was made. Then the brain took over completely and started work. I could not control it. Most of the day, and often […]
Book notes: Hwang Jung-eun — I’ll Go On
Hwang Jungeun: I’ll Go On Translated by Emily Yae Won Tilted Axis Press, 2018 Serialised as 소라나나나기, 2012-2013, and published as 계속해보겠습니다, 2014, by Changbi After not really warming to Hwang Jungeun’s One Hundred Shadows, I nevertheless invested in the second translation of her work by Tilted Axis Press firstly because the press deserves our […]
Colette Balmain and Paul Quinn on women in the Korean film industry
For those of you who, like me, were unable to make it up to Harrow for the talk on Women in Korean film by Colette Balmain and Paul Quinn on 4 March, Colette has posted a recording of her talk on Korean female directors on Soundcloud, while Paul has uploaded the text of his talk, […]
Exhibition visit: Korean crafts at Collect 2019
Collect at the Saatchi Gallery can always be relied upon to bring together a wide range of high quality crafts, and is a fair where I spend as much time looking at the non-Korean objects as I do the Korean ones. And it’s always wise to keep an eye open, in the non-Korean galleries, because […]
Kingston School of Art and Royal School of Needlework collaborate with Hanbok Advancement Centre
The first stage of an innovative collaboration between the Hanbok Advancement Centre, Kingston School of Art and the Royal School of Needlework had its first public exhibition last week at Kingston University’s Stanley Picker Gallery. The collaboration was the brainchild of Justina Jang, who through Korean British Cultural Exchange shares Korean culture with London and […]
Zadie Xa: A Sojourn Through Saturn and Across the Southern Sea
Browsing the Kingston School of Art and Stanley Picker Gallery websites today for background on their recent exhibition of Korean-inspired fashion and embroidery, I came across something I wasn’t expecting. In a zone of Kingston University’s website called Cold Protein is a series of podcasts of artists’ sound works, conceived to be experienced in specific […]
Seungri’s shame makes it into the FT
It’s not often that you find a K-pop story in the pink pages of the Financial Times. In fact, if you search their site for “BTS” you will simply get a list of articles about the company formerly known as British Telecom. So what brings them to report the ins and outs of Lee Seung-hyun’s, […]
Brief review: In the Absence – a brief Sewol documentary that packs a punch
Some of the best things come in small sizes, and this documentary about the Sewol tragedy is one of them. In the Absence: in the absence of a serious rescue effort, in the absence of decent, serious reporting by the mainstream media, in the absence of many other things. The documentary is only 29 minutes […]
Y Dance at Resolution 2019 – a video of the full performance
For those who were unable to attend the triple bill at The Place in January as part of Resolution 2019, Y Dance have posted a full length video of their moving and slightly unsettling performance, which you can view below. “넋(NEOK): SOUL” is about suffering the mental anguish caused by society, family and even themselves. […]
Catch Bridging Home, London while you still can
Suh Do-ho’s installation at the east end of London Wall will be taken down soon: its planning permission runs out at the end of the month. So catch it while you can. Here’s a few photos I took this afternoon. Thanks to Hannah Giles and 앤서방, here are some images of the work in mid […]
Nick Bonner’s Made in North Korea arrives in Seoul
The Korea JoongAng Daily has a nice feature on Nick Bonner’s collection of North Korean everyday graphic design. His collection was on show in London’s House of Illustration last year, and arrived at the Hongik Daehangno Art Center (Hyehwa subway) in December, where it will remain until early April. It is well worth a visit. […]
March events 2019
After the busiest February I can remember, March too is setting off at a cracking pace, and that’s even before we have sight of the KCC’s film schedule and upcoming exhibition. It’s a big month for music: Hyelim Kim at Club Inegales, two separate Donghoon Shin world premieres, Seong-jin Cho at the Barbican, plus concerts […]
Bae Chan-hyo’s new book of photography
I always find it strangely rewarding when things going on in London get featured in the Korean press. London-based photographer Bae Chan-hyo’s upcoming exhibition at Purdy Hicks, Jumping Into, gets a feature in yesterday’s Korea JoongAng Daily newspaper. Bae has been active on the London art scene at least since 2006, when he took part […]
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 […]