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Korea Herald
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Jeonju Sori Festival mixes tradition, experimentation and summer nights
The Jeonju International Sori Festival will return Aug. 13-17, filling five days with 57 programs and 69 performances of traditional Korean music, jazz, classical, contemporary music, and more. This year's theme, 'Echoes from the Homeland,' promises programming for audiences of all generations, with events staged at the Sori Arts Center and 14 cities and counties across North Jeolla Province. The festival opens with "Simcheong," a co-production with the National Changgeuk Company of Korea. Departing from the familiar folk tale centered on filial piety and self-sacrifice, this new interpretation reimagines the filial daughter as a symbol of the socially vulnerable who have been oppressed and deprived of their voices and power. Written and directed by Yona Kim, an opera stage director predominantly active in Germany, the work draws on her operatic experience while remaining rooted in Korean tradition. Other highlights include 'Five Pansori Stories,' in which some of the leading pansori artists perform the five surviving works of pansori, or a traditional narrative song form, and 'Sanjo Night,' showcasing the improvisational beauty of sanjo with master musicians. On Aug. 16, pianist Son Yeol-eum takes to the stage, with a late-summer jazz set by vocalist Nah Youn-sun and pianist Benjamin Moussay to follow that evening. The festival also welcomes bands that blend genres and push boundaries as it seeks to embrace experimental approaches to traditional music. Alternative pop band Leenalchi will perform tracks from its hit albums, including the viral favorite 'Tiger Is Coming.' Seodo Band will present its self-described 'Joseon Pop,' a hybrid of traditional Korean and contemporary pop, while singer-songwriter Song So-hee, a leading voice in the Gyeonggi folk singing tradition, showcases her ever-expanding musical world. The festival closes with Ahn Eun Me Company's 'Dancing Grandmothers,' a joyful homage to elderly women across Korea whose spontaneous dance movements she has collected and celebrated since 2011.
Korea Herald
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Changgeuk ‘Lear' director Jung Young-doo nominated for Laurence Olivier Award
South Korean director Jung Young-doo has been nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award, Britain's highest honor in theater, for his direction of the changgeuk production "Lear." Jung was nominated in the outstanding achievement in opera category for his work on the National Changgeuk Company of Korea's adaptation of William Shakespeare's superlative "The Tragedy of King Lear" (1606). The adaptation was staged at London's Barbican Theatre from Oct. 3 to 6, 2024. Changgeuk is akin to a genre of Korean opera. It derives from pansori, a traditional narrative singing form involving a solo singer and a percussionist that is registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Having premiered in 2022, "Lear" remains faithful to the original play's exploration of desire, jealousy, betrayal, suffering and madness, while incorporating distinct musical and vocal elements rooted in Korean tradition and heritage. "Lear" involves some of Korea's leading creatives, performers and musicians. Jung, who has an extensive background in dance, theater and musicals, collaborated with playwright Pai Sam-shik and pansori composer Han Seung-seok. The production's music was composed by Jung Jae-il, best known as the music director of the Oscar-winning "Parasite" and Netflix's global hit "Squid Game." Established in 1976 by the Society of London Theatre, the Laurence Olivier Awards are considered the highest honor in British professional theater. Since the awards recognize productions staged in London, Korean performers/artists have rarely been eligible for nomination. Notably, Yi Tae-won was nominated in the best supporting performance in a musical category in 2001 for her role in "The King and I" at the London Palladium. The outstanding achievement in opera award honors exceptional contributions by an opera company, director, conductor or performer. This year, Jung is competing against Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina for her performance in "Carmen" (Royal Opera House) and British tenor Allan Clayton for his role in "Festen" (Royal Opera House). The winners are to be announced April 6 at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Korea Herald
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Turning poetry into song
ARKO Selection reimagines modern classics Arts Council Korea has announced the lineup of the 17th ARKO Selection, a series of performances to be held this month, mostly in the popular theater district of Daehak-ro. Among the highlights is "Namdo Sori Recites Poetry: Why Did My Love Fall Silent?," set to run from Friday to Sunday. This performance weaves together the distinctive melodies and rhythms of Namdo folk music with seven modern poems, including Han Yong-un's iconic "Love's Silence" (1926). Seven pansori singers, including star performers Kim Jun-su, Yu Tae-pyung-yang and Kim Su-in from the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, will bring poetry to life through music, offering a fresh interpretation of works by renowned poets such as Yun Dong-ju, Kim Su-young, Kim Yeong-rang, Jeong Ji-yong and Kim So-wol. According to director Ji Gi-hak, one of the defining aspects of the performance is its challenge to a long-standing convention: Traditionally, male pansori singers do not perform folk songs. The custom stems from the idea that the vocal techniques required for the two genres are so different that attempting both could strain or damage the voice. Aging as central theme Coincidentally, this batch of ARKO Selection features three productions that revolve around aging -- a dance performance and two original musicals. Now that Korea has become a superaged society, with those aged 65 and older making up more than 20 percent of the total population as of December 2024, these productions offer timely reflections on growing old. In the contemporary dance piece "Roman," performed by 5 Thoughts Go and choreographed by Moon Sung-lyun, the aspirations of old age intersect with the unavoidable realities of aging. Notably, the cast includes professional dancers as well as five senior citizen performers aged 71 to 82. Through movement and dance, the production explores how individuals rediscover long-lost dreams in their twilight years. Musical theater company Ozingo's "Chun-ja in Wonderland," directed by Oh Mi-young, presents a whimsical, genre-blending tale about Chun-ja, a 70-year-old woman with dementia. When a soul fish -- a fragment of her consciousness -- slips away from her deteriorating mind, she embarks on a fantastical adventure. Chun-ja's surreal journey intersects with her family's comedic search for her. Contents group Live's "Horrifically Funny Women," directed by Oh Kyung-taek, a stage adaptation of the documentary "Chilgok Girls" and the essay collection "Looking Old, but Still Horrifically Funny," tells the inspiring story of elderly women who, denied education as youngsters due to poverty and their gender, finally get a chance to go to school. It captures their joy and newfound sense of wonder as they navigate a world once closed to them. Other productions include the contemporary dance piece "Gravity," which explores the concept of gravitational force, and the play "The Mermaid of the Reservoir," which delves into themes of existential angst, loneliness and the anxieties of today's youth. Organized by Arts Council Korea, ARKO Selection has long served as a platform supporting innovative and thought-provoking new works in the performing arts.
