K-Music Festival celebrates 10th anniversary next month

Florence Lockheart
Tuesday, September 12, 2023

From 1 October to 12 November the festival will celebrate Korean Music across London

Composer Jung Jaeil will open the festical with a concert at the Barbican on 1 October (Image courtesy of K-Music Festival)
Composer Jung Jaeil will open the festical with a concert at the Barbican on 1 October (Image courtesy of K-Music Festival)

The K-Music Festival will return to London next month for its 10th anniversary edition. A lineup of Korean artists will showcase music from their homeland in seven live shows across the capital from 1 October to 12 November.

The festival will open on 1 October with a concert presented by composer Jung Jaeil (pictured above) featuring his film scores from Parasite, Squid Game, Broker and Okja performed by London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Robert Ziegler at the Barbican Centre Hall. The concert will also feature Jaeil’s new compositions in a preview of his upcoming album, released this autumn on Decca Records.

Festival artistic director Jaeyeon Park said: ‘We are thrilled to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the K-Music Festival this year. Throughout the past nine years, the festival has left a lasting impact, infusing the vibrant music scene of London with delightful Korean musical flavours… This year's line-up continues to push the boundaries of musical artistry, incorporating film scores, alternative K-Pop, and electronic music, while still embracing traditions. We hope that the festival's legacy will contribute to adding another layer to the UK music scene, making it even more diverse and exciting.'

This year’s festival will also feature a concert combining East and West. CelloGayageum will pair the cello with traditional Korean plucked zither, gayageum, and the daegeum, a bamboo flute. As well as performances by all-female groups groove&, DUO BUD and HAEPAARY, drummer Sun Mi Hong will make her return to the K-Music Festival in collaboration with jazz vocalist and composer Song Yi Jeon, pianist Gee Hye Lee, and London-based daegeum performer Hyelim Kim. Another drummer making her return to the festival is Soojin Suh, who will present improvisation alongside BBC Jazz Award winning artist Kit Downes and her Cordless Quartet.

Organised in partnership with Serious, the founder of the EFG London Jazz Festival, and the Korean Cultural Centre UK the K-Music festival has presented over 1,000 artists in a diverse range of genres across the last decade with a total audience of 31,000 worldwide.