Details of the 2023 London Korean Film Festival are gradually coming out. BFI members may already have spotted, in the Oct-Nov catalogue, two LKFF screenings that will be at the BFI: Phantom (Lee Hae-young, 2023) on 4 Nov and Innocent Witness (Lee Han, 2019) on 5 Nov. Yesterday, the KCC officially announced the first round … [Read More]
Book review: JM Lee – Painter of the Wind
In The Investigation (2012, English version 2014), JM Lee gave readers an historical novel combined with a course in poetry appreciation. Somehow, it didn’t work for us. In Painter of the Wind, Lee gives his readers an historical novel combined with a course in art appreciation and it works a lot better. The novel was … [Read More]
Royal British Legion commemorates the Forgotten War
Seventy years to the day after the signing of the armistice, the Royal British Legion marked the anniversary of the so-called Forgotten War with dignity and style in Horseguards Parade, the venue for many ceremonials such as the Trooping of the Colour. In the presence of HRH the Duke of Gloucester, numerous veterans and their … [Read More]
Koo Jeong-a at Venice Biennale 2024: “Scent Memory” Open Call
In March this year Arts Council Korea announced that Koo Jeong A would represent Korea in the 2024 Venice Biennale. Danish artistic director Jacob Fabricius and Korean curator Lee Seol-hui were appointed to curate the project, which is entitled “Odorama Cities”. According to the Korea Times, the 2024 project will transform ‘the entirety of the … [Read More]
Jungkook’s UK solo live TV debut
You had to be quick off the mark to secure a free ticket to see Jungkook’s al fresco performance of his recently-released single Seven for Friday’s edition of BBC’s The One Show. At LKL we don’t hang out in the right corners of social media and only heard about the event as the doors opened … [Read More]
Strangers Press releases a new series of eight short story translations
Strangers Press, which brought us Yeoyu. a series of eight translated short story chapbooks in 2019, this week released a follow-up. The new series is entitled Iyagi and features works by both established and emerging authors – including what seems to be a posthumously published work by Park Wansuh. According to the publisher, “Each of these … [Read More]
K-Music Festival 2023: the official press release
The KCC and Serious announce the line-up for the 10th iteration of the K-music Festival. Expect new music from Leenalchi and Jambinai, some new collaborations, and performers that are new to the festival. The festival runs from 1 October to 12 November. [Read More]
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Recent Event updates
Curator talk: a look at Mire Lee’s installation at Tate Modern
To mark the significant presence of Korean artists in major institutions across the UK in 2024, the Korean Cultural Centre UK hosts Alvin Li, curator of International Art at Tate and invites him to share his inspiration and thoughts on Mire Lee’s new installation for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. [Read More]
K-Women: Celebrating Korean Female Artists
Korean art group 4482 (SASAPARI) showcases inspirational artworks by 17 Korean female artists in Kingston, home of the largest Korean community in Europe. In collaboration with Kingston Museum, Korean art group 4482 (SASAPARI) presents an exhibition showcasing inspirational artworks by 17 Korean women artists in Kingston, home of the largest Korean community in Europe. This … [Read More]
Chae Soo-jung Pansori performance and workshop
Chae Soo-jung and her Sori group is coming to the KCCUK for a Pansori performance. Pansori is a traditional Korean style of singing, usually sung by a person called soriggun(소리꾼), accompanied by a drummer(고수). In this performance, Chae Soo-jung and her sori group will perform one of the most famous parts of the Heungbo-ga, and … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2024 – detailed schedule
Ranging from new releases to independents to special strands, the London Korean Film Festival is the largest Korean film festival outside of Korea. To complement the BFI’s Echoes in Time season, the festival will present two strands of films that will screen at BFI Southbank, Cine Lumiere and ICA – Women’s Voices, showcasing 15 years … [Read More]
2024 Kimchi Festival
Program: 12:00 – Opening & Greeting 12:30 – 15:30 Talking on Kimchi Showing Kimchi making by master chefs Introducing different Kimchi by master chefs 16:30 – 17:00 Making Kimchi Together, Sharing Fun Together 17:30 – Closing Raffle Event Prize Return Flight Ticket to South Korea Kimchi Products Korean Snacks [External Link]
Meet the authors: Eun Hee-kyung and Lee Geum-yi
Two eminent novelists are making their way to England to meet Korean literature enthusiasts in London and Kingston: Eun Hee-kyung A renowned novelist representing Korea since the 1990s, Eun Hee-kyung is celebrated for her evocative depictions of everyday life and her insightful exploration of life’s subtle truths. Her works vividly portray the nuances of seemingly … [Read More]
The above events list includes recent updates to events which might have been uploaded some time ago (eg an update confirming venue or ticket link). A chronological listing of all event notices published, most recent first, can be found here. A list of all upcoming events can be found here.
Forever Girls: Necro-cinematics and South Korean Girlhood [forthcoming]
My monograph Forever Girls: Necro-cinematics and South Korean Girlhood (Oxford University Press), which is in production, explores girlhood and the image of death manifest in contemporary South Korean cinema, where girls’ bodies have repeatedly embodied various conflicting socio-political forces that shaped the nation. With the depiction of girlhood from the 1970s as a reference image, … [Read More]
The Ilse: First-Generation Korean Immigrants in Hawaii, 1903-1973
From the publisher’s website: On January 13, 1903, the first Korean immigrants arrived in Hawai’i. Numbering a little more than a hundred individuals, this group represented the initial wave of organized Korean immigration to Hawai’i. Over the next two and a half years, nearly 7,500 Koreans would make the long journey eastward across the Pacific. … [Read More]
Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising
The Kwangju Uprising – “Korea’s Tiananmen” – is one of the most important political events in late twentieth-century Korean history. What began as a peaceful demonstration against the imposition of military rule in the southwestern city of Kwangju in May 1980 turned into a bloody people’s revolt. In the two decades since, memories of the … [Read More]
Education Fever: Society, Politics, and the Pursuit of Schooling in South Korea
From the publisher’s website: In the half century after 1945, South Korea went from an impoverished, largely rural nation ruled by a succession of authoritarian regimes to a prosperous, democratic industrial society. No less impressive was the country’s transformation from a nation where a majority of the population had no formal education to one with … [Read More]
Voices from the Straw Mat: Toward an Ethnography of Korean Story Singing
From the publisher’s website: From its humble “straw mat” origins to its paradoxical status as a national treasure, p’ansori has survived centuries of change and remains the primary source of Korean narrative and poetic consciousness. In this innovative work, Chan Park celebrates her subject not as a static phenomenon but a living, organic tradition adapting … [Read More]
And So Flows History
From the publisher’s website: A deeply compelling saga of love, jealously, honor, and greed, And So Flows History (역사는 흐른다, 1947) depicts the relentless power of exterior forces on the individual lives of three generations of the illustrious Cho family–from the waning years of the Choson dynasty in the late nineteenth century to the tumultuous … [Read More]
The above booklist includes recent updates to books which might have been uploaded some time ago (eg an update to reflect a release of cover art, or a new review). A chronological listing of all books uploaded, most recent first, can be found here.