Korea/UK 2017-18 Launches with Family-Friendly London Korean Festival

The London Korean Festival 2017 with Feel Korea heralds an official year-long cultural exchange between the UK and Korea, set to bring the best of Korean art to the UK. Korean cuisine, Korean martial arts demonstrations and drumming from TAGO, who performed sold-out shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016, are among the attractions for families at the free day event, full of the sights, sounds and scents of Korean culture.

There is an opportunity for would-be UK K-pop stars to compete in the K-Pop World Festival, with UK Regionals taking place at 2pm during the London Korean Festival. Applications for entry close 18th June, with the UK regional winner going on to the online international audition stage for the opportunity to attend the festival in Korea as representatives of the UK.

Also looking ahead to upcoming international events, the Olympic Winter Games are due to take place in PyeongChang in 2018 and there will be a virtual experience showing off Korea's plans and hopes for the Games at the Olympia during the day.

Following the daytime event, which is free to attend, a ticketed evening concert will take place at 7pm featuring four K-pop sensations including Highlight, the boyband formerly known as Beast, one of the most award-winning Korean groups of all time, and EXID, the multi-award-winning girl group whose name stands for 'Exceed In Dreaming'.

Alongside a reciprocal season organised by the British Council's announcement of UK/Korea 2017/18 which will see British artists visit Korea, the Korean Cultural Centre UK's wide programme over the next twelve months includes a month-long K-Music festival in September, performances from Korean companies on London's most prestigious dance stages including Sadler's Wells and The Place, and visual arts exhibitions, workshops and residencies across twenty organisations across London, Bristol, Gateshead, Liverpool and Sheffield. Performance art also plays a significant role throughout the season's programme, which includes KCCUK-supported external projects and an in-house programme dedicated to the season.

The Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCC UK) was opened by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 2008 in London with the aim of enhancing friendship, amity and understanding between Korea and the UK through cultural and educational activities. From the KCC's central London location near Trafalgar Square, a dedicated cultural team work to further develop established cultural projects, introduce new opportunities to expand the Korean events programme in the UK, and to encourage cultural exchange.

www.kccuk.org.uk