Now in its twelfth year, the K-Music Festival returns in autumn 2025 with an expansive programme of concerts showcasing the diversity and innovation of contemporary Korean music. Running from October 1st to November 20th, the K-Music Festival is organised by the Korean Cultural Centre UK in partnership with Serious, producers of the EFG London Jazz Festival, and will feature leading Korean and UK artists at major London venues including the Barbican, Southbank Centre, Royal Albert Hall, and Kings Place.

Since 2013, the K-Music Festival has introduced UK audiences to Korean musicians working at the intersection of tradition, jazz, and experimental sounds. While the festival remains rooted in fusion and improvisational music, it also supports cross-genre collaborations, including contemporary classical commissions and hybrid performances. The 2025 edition reflects this commitment to breadth and dialogue, with concerts that span improvisation, orchestral post-rock, and jazz-influenced chamber works.

The festival opens on October 1st at Kings Place with a collaboration between Korean cellist and composer Okkyung Lee and UK-based electronic artist Mark Fell. Known for her boundary-defying technique and exploration of sonic extremes, Lee’s work blends noise, traditional Korean forms, and avant-garde composition. Her collaborators have included Arca, Swans, and Christian Marclay, and her performances have been presented at MoMA, the Serpentine, and Donaueschinger Musiktage. In this project, she joins Fell – an influential figure in digital art and experimental music – for a performance shaped by extended techniques, abstract rhythms, visceral improvisation and electronic soundscapes.

On October 5th, JAMBINAI will perform with the London Contemporary Orchestra at the Barbican, under the direction of conductor Robert Ames. This show marks the first time a traditional Korean band has headlined the Barbican. Founded in Seoul in 2009, JAMBINAI are known for fusing Korean traditional instruments such as haegeum, geomungo, and piri with the dynamic power of post-rock. This orchestral collaboration represents a new evolution of their sound – blending cinematic textures with Korean folk aesthetics – and continues their long association with the K-Music Festival. JAMBINAI performed a sell-out show at the festival in 2023 and also gained international attention at the Closing Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

On October 18th, Korean string trio Hilgeum will make their London debut at the Purcell Room at Southbank Centre, performing with British vocalist and composer Alice Zawadzki. Hilgeum – comprising Yoin Cho (gayageum), Yerim Kim (geomungo), and Somin Park (haegeum) – combine deep knowledge of traditional string performance with contemporary sensibilities. Their recent work includes the 2024 EP WASTELAND, which expands on the cinematic themes of their debut album Utopia. The collaboration with Zawadzki, an acclaimed genre-crossing artist, promises a lyrical and intimate exchange across cultural traditions.

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Won Il, who opened the inaugural K-Music Festival in 2013, returns with a new interdisciplinary work, Dionysus Robot, co-presented by the EFG London Jazz Festival on November 14th at Queen Elizabeth Hall. The piece draws on Korean shamanic music, contemporary electronics, and live performance to create a ritualistic meditation on instinct, control, and transformation. Featuring drag artist Jimin Mo, Dionysus Robot pays tribute to the philosophy of Dionysus and the legacy of Nam June Paik, offering an immersive theatrical experience where sound, movement and image converge.

The following evening, on November 15th, the quartet Gray by Silver will perform at the Elgar Room, Royal Albert Hall, as part of the Late Night Jazz series. Led by pianist and composer HanBin Lee, the group brings together jazz, traditional Korean music, and classical influences into an introspective and improvisational sound. Their latest album Eternal Gray was awarded Best Jazz Album at the 2024 Seoul Music Awards, and recent international appearances include Lincoln Center, Jodhpur RIFF, and Colours of Ostrava.

The festival concludes on November 20th at Barbican Hall with a major commission: the world premiere of a new concerto by composer Dong-hoon Shin, written for pianist Seong-Jin Cho and performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. This performance is part of the LSO Futures series and marks a significant collaboration between two leading Korean artists in the field of contemporary classical music. Cho, winner of the 17th International Chopin Competition and current Artist-in-Residence with the Berlin Philharmonic, returns to the Barbican following his sold-out recital in 2023. Shin’s works have been commissioned and performed by major international ensembles and are published by Boosey & Hawkes.