AGI’s weekly events column is back and ready to get you started for the 7 days to come with a load of new Asia-related things to do. Have your pen handy to schedule in a few dates on your calendar….
EAT OUT
Gymkhana, in Mayfair, is the second restaurant run by Karam Sethi, best known for his work at Trishna London, where he earned a Michelin star. The 100-seat restaurant is supposedly inspired by the ‘gymkhana’ clubs of colonial India, where members of high society would go to socialise. The new venue’s interior references that era with ceiling fans that hang from a dark-lacquered oak ceiling, lamps from Jaipur and hunting trophies from the Maharaja of Jodhpur. The menu features dishes such as duck egg and white crab bhurji, coconut sambal and Gilafi buffalo seekh kebab. The lower ground floor will be a take on a 17th-century East India punch house with a brass bar at its core. Gymkhana is now officially open for business and reservations can be made through their website.
GO
‘Anjin 1600: Edo Wonderpark’ by David Blandy is a multi-room art installation incorporating anime-styled animation video. The work is based upon a re-imagining of the story of William Adams (1564-1620), a sea navigator known as the first Englishman to set foot in Japan in 1600. The exhibition will be a complex meditation on colonialism, cultural tourism and identity. See it at the Rose Lipman Building at 43 De Beauvoir Road until Oct 26. Admission is free.
Online registration for the 2013 Korea Business & Entertainment Expo (KBEE) will start from this morning (Oct 14) at 9AM. The actual event will be held next month from Nov. 4-6. You can register at http://kbee.kotra.or.kr/. Select your preference for attendance at the Congratulatory Ceremony (which includes a stage performance by popular K-Pop girl group 2NE1) and a number of special 2NE1 Hologram Concerts. Reservations for the Congratulatory Ceremony and Hologram Concerts are made on a first come, first serve basis. Confirmation emails will be sent to those who successfully book their spot.
On Oct 15 at 6PM, be sure to visit the Vernon Square campus of SOAS at the University of London for a special visit by the Mayor of Korea’s ‘Peace Village’, Gangjeong on Jeju Island, Korea. He will be talking about why his village is opposed to a naval base being built there by the Korean government. AGI is expected to hold an interview with the mayor in the next few days. Watch the website or facebook page for more information. The facebook page for this event is available here.
Also on Oct 15 (at 7PM), ‘K-LIT: Taking Its Place on the Korean Wave’ will be presented by the British Council and is held at the Korean Cultural Centre in London. This event will be hosted by BBC journalist Samira Ahmed and there will be a panel discussion about developments and themes in contemporary Korean literature in anticipation of next year’s London Book Fair when South Korea will be the Market Focus country. To book a seat, please RSVP to info@kccuk.org.uk
SEE
Running until Oct 26, ‘The World of Extreme Happiness’ is a new play examining the exploitation of migrant factory workers in China. Reviews have been quite positive so far. Playing at The Shed (a temporary venue run by and located in front of the National Theatre, Southbank). Tickets £12-20.
