Korea/UK Festival

An abundance of things Korean hit London very soon to usher in an official 12-month cultural exchange between the UK and South Korea.

Korean companies are already engaged in the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival which goes on until 8 July, among them the dance company Modern Table, which will be familiar to habituès of The Place, where it performed last year.

However, the official start to the year is the London Korea Festival with Feel Korea, which takes place at Olympia London on 8 July. During the day entrance is free, and visitors can immerse themselves in all things Korean, including cuisine, sold from street food stands but with plenty of free tasters, martial arts demonstrations, with a particular emphasis on Korea's very own Taekwondo, and - not to be missed! - performances by the the fascinating drumming group TAGO.

If you're an aficionado of Winter Sports and are already looking forward to the next Winter Olympics which South Korea will host, you'll able to get a virtual preview of what to expect in PyeongChang 2018.

All these events are free and ideal for families. At 7 pm there will be a ticketed K-pop concert set to showcase some of the most popular names in the genre. Headliners include K-pop boy band Highlight, formerly known as Beast, and the award-winning girl group EXID. We don't expect Gangnam Style to put in an appearance, but you never know...

As the year progresses, other Korean cultural events will take place throughout the UK, to match a series of British cultural events in South Korea. The next venue will be the Edinburgh Fringe; Dance Umbrella will host choreographer Eun-Me Ahn’s Let Me Change Your Name; September will bring the K-Music Festival which ranges from classical to pop with a lot more in between; there will arts exhibitions, lectures, workshops and residencies.

The whole year comes to an end with a concert at the Southbank Centre (14 June 2018), with the Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton Korean-American conductor Han-na Chang, and solo piano from the London-based Korean pianist Sunwook Kim.

For the full Korea/UK year long programme click here