Latest news with #LeeHee-moon
Korea Herald
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Lee Hee-moon's glam journey through folk songs -- in heels and hanbok
Clad in sparkling high heels, short tights and a shock of brightly colored wigs, Lee Hee-moon stepped onto the stage in full glam and earned many nicknames like 'The Gugak Rebel' or 'The Joseon Hedwig.' But to focus on his flamboyant costuming alone is to miss the larger picture. Onstage, Lee moves with the magnetism of a pop star and the ritualistic presence of a folk priest. Collaborating across genres, from jazz and hip-hop to techno, disco and trot, he bends and reshapes Korean folk music into something utterly his own. What unfolds in his performances is neither fully traditional nor fully modern; neither strictly male nor female; neither a rock concert nor a ritual. It is something entirely new. His creativity with tradition and genre is what brought him to July's Yeowoorak Festival as artistic director. Now 45, Lee is one of the few male vocalists formally trained in Gyeonggi minyo, a traditional style of Korean folk music native to Seoul and its surrounding province. The genre, traditionally performed by women, is rarely pursued by male singers. But to him, tradition is not a dusty relic. It's a living, breathing, ever-evolving form — playful, dynamic and at times, subversive. 'I'm just trying different outfits for minyo,' he said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. 'Different costumes, different sounds, different visuals. It's like I'm making sample after sample, seeing what clicks with the audience.' He came to gugak late — in his late 20s — partly because the idea of a male Gyeonggi minyo singer did not occur to him. Even so, Lee's roots in minyo run deep. His mother, Go Ju-rang, is a renowned Gyeonggi minyo master, and he trained under her close friend Lee Chun-hee. A 2007 collaboration with renowned choreographer Ahn Eun-mi on 'Princess Bari' marked the breakthrough that defined his artistic vision. He went on to form the glam-folk band SsingSsing in 2014 and gained global attention with a viral NPR Tiny Desk Concert in 2017. Looking back, pushing against the boundaries of a conservative music scene was daunting. 'It felt like I was going through a kind of measles,' he said with a laugh. 'But once I got through it, I realized it wasn't such a big deal after all.' 'When I dress up, I feel like I become someone else — more confident, more alive. That transformation helps me onstage,' he added. This year alone, Lee has presented several projects/repertoires and has more lined up, blending new and ongoing works such as band Obangsin (2020), the documentary-style lecture "Deep Love Trilogy" (2020), his most traditional work 'Yo' (2024) and the male minyo group Goman Goman (2024). Unlike his usual glittery performances, the recent projects take a stripped-down approach. Wearing traditional hanbok, without sequins or heels, Lee puts the music itself front and center. During the Japanese colonial period, male minyo singers nearly disappeared, Lee explained, but recently, he has noticed more young men stepping onto the scene. Gathering these young singers for study sessions and stage performances has reignited his desire to return to tradition. '(I think) I have always embraced tradition, but I now hope to sing in a more classical style — faithful to the traditional methods as well,' he said. 'I've grown increasingly passionate about this goal.' His work with Gyeonggi minyo continues to evolve alongside him. 'I always say that the melodies of Gyeonggi minyo are bright, elaborate and lively,' he said. 'But if you look closely at the lyrics, they contain the full range of human emotions: joy, sorrow, love and anger. It's like telling sad stories with a smile. Sometimes, it even feels like black comedy. That's why I think this genre fits our times so well.' 'It's a truly unique kind of music, and when I create performances, I want to match that uniqueness with equally distinctive shows.' The 2025 Yeowookrak Festival runs from July 4-26. hwangdh@
Korea Herald
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
An invitation to 'Weird and Wonderful Land' of folk songs
Lee Hee-moon leads genre-bending summer festival at National Theater of Korea This July, the National Theater of Korea extends an unusual invitation: a summer journey to a 'Weird Land of Folk Songs.' The 2025 edition of the annual monthlong Yeowoorak Festival (short for 'Here is Our Music' in Korean) is the National Theater's signature summer series, known for dismantling genre boundaries while celebrating the rich textures of Korean traditional music. Since its debut in 2010, Yeowoorak has drawn more than 82,000 attendees. Running from Friday to July 26, this year's festival unfolds under the theme 'Weird Land of Folk Songs.' The artistic director is Lee Hee-moon, known for his flamboyant performances that reinterpret Gyeonggi minyo, a style of folk song passed down in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. 'Folk songs were once the pop songs of their time,' Lee said at a recent press conference. 'Today, they've become part of the fringe minority, but I hope we can revive them and bring them back into the mainstream through great musicians and new interpretations.' That sense of rediscovery forms the core of this year's festival, which features 16 performances reimagining minyo, or Korean folk songs, through a prism of styles, sounds and generations. Over 200 artists will participate, including veteran pop singer Insooni, singer-songwriter Choi Baek-ho, jazz vocalist Woongsan and indie band Cadejo. Genres range from classical and jazz to indie rock, musical theater and contemporary dance. Artists have been assigned mythical roles to reflect their creative approaches: Legendary folk masters are called guardians, while boundary-pushing artists are dubbed alchemists and wizards, conjuring sonic transformations from tradition. The festival opens on Friday with 'Heemoony in Wonderland,' a genre-bending performance led by Lee himself. Joined by a colorful cast, including veteran pop diva Min Hae-kyung, musical star Ivy and hip-hop duo Mighty Mouth, the show aims for a high-voltage voyage through Korean folk tradition. 'The musicians working in traditional music today are truly excellent. They're experimenting, they're innovating,' Lee noted. 'But we still haven't had a breakout hit. I'd like to see one this year.'
