It was glorious weather yesterday for Kingston’s Korean Harvest Fest – almost too hot for some of the energetic Kpop dancers and the visiting professionals from Korea. The ice cream sellers were doing brisk trade, as of course were the Korean food stalls that were set up down one side of the historic market place. […]
Places: Kingston + New Malden
A visit to New Malden’s 2019 Korean Independence Day celebrations
Having arrived back in town from the Edinburgh Fringe around midnight the previous evening, I was never going to make it to the 11am speeches and other formalities that kick off the traditional Korean Independence Day celebrations in New Malden. But it was clear that there had been a good turnout: by the time I […]
Kingston’s Korean Harvest Festival 2019
This year’s Kingston Korean Harvest Festival, organised by Korean British Cultural Exchange, forms part of the broader Kingston River Heritage Festival in partnership with Totally Thames. One of the strands of the Harvest Fest is a community dance project, which will be repeated the following day, Sunday 15 September, in the Scoop outside City Hall, […]
Remembering the Sewol – the campaign’s next phase
This month Remembering Sewol UK is moving from their regular location at Trafalgar Square, where they have had a monthly presence for over five years, to New Malden – London’s ‘Koreatown’. They will be providing leaflets, yellow ribbons and badges to the public and engage in conversation with those who are interested in or affected […]
2019 Independence Day Korean Festival in New Malden
The celebrations by the Korean community are often a word-of-mouth thing. Everyone knows they’re going to happen — at least, everyone in the Korean community — but no-one seems to want to publicise it to non-Koreans. So credit to Wook Kim for posting a video about the upcoming New Malden celebrations on Facebook. The festivals […]
Call for Papers – BTS: A Global Interdisciplinary Conference Project
The call for papers has been issued for the long-planned conference on BTS: Call for Papers – BTS: A Global Interdisciplinary Conference Project Kingston University, January 4-5, 2020 Korean boy group BTS are the first ever Korean act to perform at Wembley Stadium as part of their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour. Debuting in 2013 under […]
Korean Arts Festival 2019 in Kingston Parish Church
Korean senior citizens display their talents, along with the Thames Philharmonia, on 4 May: Korean Arts Festival 2019 All Saints Church Kingston | 14-16 Market Place | Kingston upon Thames KT1 1JP Saturday 4 May 2019, 4pm Tickets: £12 (Performance+ Including 1 glass of wine) | Early Bird Ticket £10 | Under 13 & Over […]
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 […]
Hanbok-inspired fashion on show in Kingston University
An international project in which the Royal School of Needlework collaborated with the Korean Hanbok Advancement Centre, KBCE and Kingston University, has offered a unique opportunity for students to create exhibitable works which creatively reinterpreted elements of the traditional Korean dress (Hanbok) using both traditional and contemporary hand embroidery techniques. The finished pieces by Kingston […]
The Kimjang Project is officially launched
The Kimjang Project launched yesterday in New Malden with congratulatory messages from the Mayor of Kingston Thay Thayalan and the local MP Sir Ed Davey among others. The project celebrates the various aspects of kimjang, for example the communal character of kimchi-making and its health-giving properties. New Malden, sometimes known as New Mal-dong (뉴몰동), as […]
Kimjang: Making and Sharing Kimchi – launch event in New Malden
Korean British Cultural Exchange, the people who bring you the Korean festival in Kingston market square at Chuseok time, have received Heritage Lottery funding for a Kimjang event at the end of November. The project has a launch event in February. KBCE are always seeking volunteers to help in their cultural projects: do think about […]
Little Pyongyang Screening with Q+A with Mr Choi
Join the Korea Future Initiative and Connect: North Korea on Dec 3rd for the first screening of ‘Little Pyongyang’ to feature a Q&A with the documentary’s star, Mr Choi Joong-hwa. The screening will take place in New Malden Methodist Church. Doors open at 7.15pm. Tickets in advance are £5; £7 on the doors. Proceeds will […]
Photo gallery: Kingston Korean Harvest Fest 2018
The weather wasn’t very kind to the organisers and visitors for the 2018 Chuseok celebrations in Kingston’s market square. But still there was an enthusiastic turnout, especially for the Kpop performances. LKL managed to make it towards the end of the afternoon, which means we missed the opening ceremony with the Korean ambassador and Ed […]
Kingston’s Korean Harvest Festival
Now in its third year, the early Autumn Korean harvest festival organised by Korean British Cultural Exchange comes to Kingston’s marketplace this September: Kingston Celebrates Chuseok Saturday 22 September 2018, 12 noon – 4pm Ancient Market Place | Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 1JS www.kbce.org.uk/harvest Detailed schedule at the bottom of this page. Fun, family-friendly and free for […]
K-Pop UK National Competition 2018
This looks fun: separate from the UK round of the K-pop World Festival that was held earlier this summer, the Kingston-based organisation Korea British Cultural Exchange (KBCE) is organising a UK-specific national competition for K-pop dance and vocal covers. The finals will be held in Kingston at the end of October. K-Pop UK National Competition […]
The 73rd Independence Day celebrations in New Malden
Kingston’s Koreans today celebrated the 73rd anniversary of Independence Day. It was the first public engagement of the new ambassador, HE Park Eun-ha, who is to be thanked for making the time: she only arrived in London to take up her post two days ago. In attendance were Kingston’s Mayor, Thay Thayalan, and the leader […]
Event news: the 2018 Independence Day Korean Festival
The big Korean festival on Kingston’s Fairfield Recreation Ground seems to have run its course. Instead, this year we have a slightly smaller celebration in the heart of Koreatown: The 73rd Independence Day Ceremony and Festival Saturday 18 August 2018, 11:00am – 4:30pm Glasshouse Pub Courtyard | 14 Coombe Road | New Malden KT3 4QE […]