Last month the British Museum’s most talked-about exhibition was the Bayeux Tapestry, which celebrates the bloody conquest of Britain by invaders from France in 1066. This month a new exhibition celebrates a much more peaceful invasion that Britain has been experiencing over the past decade or so: the pervasive reach of Korean culture that has … [Read More]
Front Page
A special evening with Chang Kiha
The K-music Festival opened on 28 September with a triple bill at Evolutionary Arts Hackney. Scheduled at the start of the busy autumn Korean cultural season, the concert clashed with the reception to celebrate the launch of the big Korea exhibition at the British Museum. For those who had to be at the British Museum, … [Read More]
October events 2026
We’re back in the busy season, with diary clashes galore, and that’s before we discover whether the London East Asia Film Festival is happening this year. Priorities for your diary this month are the British Museum’s new Korea exhibition, opening 1 October; the K-music Festival, which opened at the start of this week; and the … [Read More]
Chuseok Festival at Samsung KX: a fun and interactive celebration of Korean culture
New contributor Marilyn Ama reports from the celebration of Chuseok at Samsung KX on 20 September What started off as a gloomy and cloudy Sunday quickly turned warm and sunny as the time neared for the EOLBEAT Chuseok Festival to kick off at 12 PM on 20th September. A long queue of attendees stood waiting … [Read More]
Bleak, relatable, daring, humane: how Korean literature emerged from its niche
The following is the text of the talk I submitted to the LTI Korea conference held in Seoul on 1 – 3 July 2026 celebrating their 30th birthday. I am grateful to LTI Korea for the invitation to present, and to those who helped and encouraged me in the preparation. Special thanks go to literary … [Read More]
The LKL Korean Literature in Translation survey: a quick look at the results
A few months ago I asked for your help with preparing for a talk at a conference organised by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea to celebrate their 30th birthday. The brief for my talk was, to quote from the email I received commissioning it, “how Korean literature is received by English-speaking readers — what … [Read More]
In pictures: Icheon and Beyond — The Space Within Form
In the past few years, the potters and other artisans of Icheon have shown off the beauty of their work at the Collect craft fair, in partnership with Han Collection. That arrangement worked well for a few years, but had its limitations. On the one hand, Collect gave them the opportunity to find buyers for … [Read More]
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Recent Event updates
Symposium: Korea — 2,000 years of creativity
Held in conjunction with the British Museum exhibition Korea: 2,000 years of creativity, this two-day international symposium, co-organised by the British Museum and the School of Arts and Centre for Korean Studies at SOAS, University of London, brings together leading scholars of Korean art history. Following the exhibition’s chronological narrative, each presentation examines one or … [Read More]
Korea: a curators’ introduction
Join Sang-ah Kim and Yoojin Kwak Choi, curators of the Korea exhibition, as they explore the context, scope, themes and highlight objects of the exhibition. Featuring outstanding examples of sculpture, painting and decorative arts over two millennia – up to the present day – the exhibition presents the most comprehensive chronological survey of Korean visual … [Read More]
[Edinburgh] Documentary screenings and Korean Culture Day
![Thumbnail for post: [Edinburgh] Documentary screenings and Korean Culture Day](https://londonkoreanlinks.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/scotland-korea-day-120x120.jpg)
The Scottish Centre for Korean Studies is holding a Korean Culture Day on 7 October to which all are welcome: 1 Virtual Roundtable 7 October 10am – 11:30am: Visualising Politics and Memory — Remembering Peace and Justice differently through Korean films Location: Online via Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/392000701697543?p=APFOGJKPF7K7CFDDGY Organizers: Dr Chaeyoung Yong (University of St Andrews) Dr … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2026 – initial details announced
The 21st London Korean Film Festival (LKFF) returns from 2–16 November 2026. As in prior years, the first details to be released relate to the screenings at the BFI – to align with the BFI’s normal timetable of programme announcements for the coming weeks. The full programme will be announced shortly. Below you’ll find a … [Read More]
TV drama screening and conversation: Dear X
The Korean Cultural Centre UK, in collaboration with CJ ENM, is pleased to present a special screening of Dear X. Baek Ah-jin knows how to become the person others want to see. Behind the flawless image of a top actress is someone who has learned to read and manipulate the people around her. Driven … [Read More]
Korea: the Lee Kun-Hee bequest, at the British Museum
Discover the story of Korea’s distinctive and vibrant arts – from 300 BC to the present day. Featuring outstanding examples of sculpture, painting and decorative arts over two millennia – up to the present day – the exhibition presents the most comprehensive chronological survey of Korean visual and material culture seen in Europe for over … [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.
Recent Book updates
Korea: 2,000 years of creativity
A history of Korean art and culture told through an extraordinary selection of objects from the Lee Kun-Hee Collection. For over 2,000 years Korea has had a unique history and vibrant culture, frequently absorbing and adapting ideas from elsewhere to produce art and crafts that are distinctively Korean. Across the centuries, down to the present … [Read More]
Dictée
Dictée is the best-known work of the versatile and important Korean American artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. A classic work of autobiography that transcends the self, Dictée is the story of several women: the Korean revolutionary Yu Guan Soon, Joan of Arc, Demeter and Persephone, Cha’s mother Hyung Soon Huo (a Korean born in Manchuria … [Read More]
A Refuge for Jae-in Doe and Other Fugues
A Refuge for Jae-in Doe and Other Fugues is the lyric memoir of Korean American survivor Seo-Young (Jennie) Chu. It is also a meta-memoir, one that is aware of its makeshift nature, poses questions about the genre(s) it inhabits, and self-consciously reflects on what it means to write autobiographically. Throughout the book, Chu experiments with … [Read More]
Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul
Pocha; short for pojangmacha, which literally translates as ‘covered wagon’; pocha is a tented or tarpaulin-covered stall, bar or market vendor serving up cheap and unfussy Korean comfort food, snacks and drinks. In Pocha, Su Scott is going home to the streets where she grew up and the food that shaped her. From daybreak to … [Read More]
The Land of Youth [forthcoming]
Following her sharp insight and delicate sensibility in works like Almond and Counterattacks at Thirty, author Sohn Won-pyung presents a new novel, The Land of Youth, set in the near future. Through the diary of the protagonist, Yoonara, this novel explores various aspects of a future society where the pressing issues of our time—such as … [Read More]
William Franklin Sands in Late Choson Korea, 1896–1904: At the Deathbed of Empire
After graduation from Georgetown University in 1896, William Franklin Sands joined the US diplomatic corps as second secretary in Tokyo. His year there sparked his interest in East Asia, so when a position in Korea opened, he took it, with the help of his influential father, an admiral in the US navy. For two years … [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.