“Aigoo!” grumbled veteran pop diva Yoon Bok-hee as she bent down to untangle a kink in the microphone cable. Her back didn’t seem to be giving her any problems though. She told us twice, to much applause, that she is now 63 years old, and very sprightly she is too. This was all part of … [Read More]
Place: UK (page 10)
Nanta comes to the Rose Theatre
Readers who are familiar with Jump and Breakout will need no persuasion to come along to Nanta as part of the New Malden Festival. Koreans seem to specialise in high energy non-verbal performances with a wide international appeal, and Nanta is no exception. It won the top prize at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1999 … [Read More]
Yoon Bok-hee comes to Kingston
Koreans seem to keep some of their favourite stars well hidden from the West. Google singer Yoon Bok-hee in English, and you don’t find much. The Kpopwiki is able to provide a discography but no biography, while the occasional article in the Korea Times mention her only in passing: recently for performing the role of … [Read More]
3rd New Malden Arts Festival
Details of the 3rd New Malden Arts Festival, organised by Theatre For All. Date: 16 June 2009 ~ 11 July (4 weeks) Organised by: Theatre For All (www.theatre4all.com) Supported by: Kingston Council, Korean Cultural Centre UK, ASIANA AIRLINES 16th June YOON BOK HEE OPENING GALA CONCERT 16th June – 27th June NANTA (Cookin’) – Rose … [Read More]
Cambridge-based Man U fan wins trip to Seoul
Celebrating the big supporter base in Korea for England’s most successful football team, the Seoul Metropolitan Government last weekend gave away a trip for two to Seoul in a lottery drawn at half time during the Manchester United game against Blackburn Rovers on 21 February. The legendary Bobby Charlton was there to witness the draw, … [Read More]
FT hails New Malden parakeets, and other recent London Korean stories
First up, Professor Keith Howard from SOAS got featured in the JoongAng daily in an article entitled Samulnori beats in an English heart, on the occasion of a recent trip to Seoul to attend a Samulnori symposium. Professor Howard will soon be off to sunnier climes, with a year in Sydney Australia. Howard was recently … [Read More]
Seeing and Hiding at New Days Gallery
Notice of an exhibition at New Days Gallery, commencing this weekend, featuring work by Hai Yun Jung. Hai Yun Jung: Seeing and Hiding Newdays Gallery London | 2 Alric Ave | New Malden | KT3 4JN Enquiry: 0208 286 1335 / 07894 237044 4th (Sat) Oct – 23rd (Thur) Oct 2008 Opening time: 10am – … [Read More]
English church, Korean choir, great concert
What is aural image is conjured up when you hear of a Civic Chorale? Perhaps a worthy amateur choral society, used to performing madrigals with rather too many singers and too much vibrato, plodding through an annual Messiah at Easter time? Think again when it comes to the Suwon Civic Chorale. This forty-strong choir from … [Read More]
Suwon Civic Chorale in Kingston
Earlier this week the Suwon Civic Chorale were participating in the convention of the Association of British Choral Directors in Lincoln. Friday night saw a gala concert in the cathedral including other world-class choral groups such as the Orlando Consort. Tonight the Suwon choir come to All Saints Parish Church in Kingston market place, KT1 … [Read More]
Korean bookshop in New Malden
Thanks to David Gomez for writing in with an answer to a question which lots of people have asked: where to buy Korean books in London. Not books about Korea, not books about how to learn Korean, but books written in Korean. My standard answer is that I haven’t the foggiest idea, but that if … [Read More]
The Reflection at New Days Gallery
News of a three-week exhibition at the New Days Gallery in New Malden: The reflection Artist: Dok Hi Kim Open to public: 16th (Sat) Aug – 6th (Sat) Sep 08 Opening time: 10am-5pm, Tue-Sat (Closed on Sun & Mon) Venue: Newdays Gallery London 2 Alric Ave, New Malden, KT3 4JN Enquiry: 0208 286 1335 / … [Read More]
North Koreans in Britain
Every now and then a visitor to this site asks whether there are any North Koreans in the UK, apart from at the DPRK embassy. Journalist Michael Rank keeps his eyes open for evidence, particularly on the parliamentary website, and shares his findings with the BAKS list – little snippets of information such as the … [Read More]
KFC – Korean Fried Chicken – and French Korean Links
Jennifer Barclay reports from the Korean Food Festival, held in the garden of the Fountain Pub, New Malden, Saturday 12 July 2008 By 10.30 on Saturday morning, I’d already done my best to introduce millions of BBC Radio Four listeners to the delights of kimchi. I’d been invited onto the travel show Excess Baggage to … [Read More]
Food Festival in New Malden
The Korean Food Festival will be held tomorrow, 12 July, at the Fountain Pub, 120 Malden Rd, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 6DD. [Map] Word of mouth tells me that the format will be pretty much the same as last year – so it will be starting at lunchtime (maybe from about noon) and continuing all … [Read More]
Yoon and Tall Lee crowd-surf in Kingston
Saharial reports from the Yoon Band’s gig at The Peel, Kingston, 6 June 2008 Arriving at 5.30pm, Y.B. (Yoon Band) was almost instantly swamped by the dozen or so Korean youngsters that had been lurking for a while, and amiably chatted to them whilst posing for photos and signing autographs. I chatted briefly to Lee … [Read More]
Return of Millennium Dream
Last year the ceramic artists of North Gyeongsang province held an exhibition just off Regent Street entitled Millennium Dream, Millennium Light. This year they return to a gallery in New Malden – coinciding nicely with the first week of the New Malden Arts Festival. As last year, the exhibition will include work by renowned masters. … [Read More]