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Korea Herald
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
K-culture begins with the arts: National Theater of Korea launches new season with global ambitions
72 productions, 2 new festivals and vision that bridges tradition, global reach When Korean cultural references like gat, dopo robes, magpies and tigers appear in hit animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters," it's a sign that the stature of Korean culture has changed significantly, according to Park In-gun, CEO of the National Theater of Korea. 'And K-culture begins with the fundamental arts. I hope to see powerful works that expand across the world," Park said during a recent press conference at the Korea Press Center in Seoul. Building on that foundation, the National Theater of Korea has announced its 2025-26 season lineup, opening Aug. 20. Under the slogan 'Together, Go Further,' the theater aims to position itself as a platform that actively engages with contemporary audiences while remaining rooted in Korea's traditional performing arts. This season marks the largest slate yet, with 72 productions — 11 more than the previous season — including 25 new works. As part of its expanded programming, the National Theater is introducing two major new festivals: the Korea International Music Theater Festival and the 2025 Korean Traditional Dance Festival. These additions reflect the theater's evolving role as both a custodian of heritage and a hub for contemporary expression. Running from Sept. 3 to 28, the inaugural Korea International Music Theater Festival will center on East Asia, featuring music theater from Korea, China and Japan. The festival is expected to grow into a global event that showcases a wide spectrum of musical theater from around the world. Scheduled for Oct. 30-31, the 2025 Korean Traditional Dance Festival will bring together 10 national and regional public dance companies in a sweeping celebration of Korean dance. The National Theater's three resident companies — the National Changgeuk Company, the National Dance Company and the National Orchestra of Korea — will premiere new works this season and revive audience favorites. The National Changgeuk Company will present "Pansori Theater Shim Cheong" (Sept. 3-6), a revisionist take on the Korean folktale heroine, reframing her with greater agency and contemporary resonance. Another major production is "Hyomyeong: The Prince of Art" (June 23-28, 2026), which blends changgeuk with royal court dance to portray Crown Prince Hyomyeong, a pivotal figure in the development of late Joseon-era court performance traditions. "The Story of Lee Nal-chi" (Nov. 21-29) and "Boheoja: The One Who Paces the Void" (March 19-29, 2026) will also return to the stage. The National Dance Company will explore themes of family in a new production titled "Home," while also reviving modern reinterpretations of traditional aesthetics in works such as "Book of the Dead," "Mongyudowonmu" and "Mask Off." The National Orchestra of Korea will collaborate with classical guitarist and celebrated film composer Lee Byung-woo, best known for his work on "The King and the Clown" and "The Face Reader." The season also includes "Acoustic," an experimental project reimagining the sound design of Haeoreum Grand Theater and "Modern Folk Song," a nostalgic revisiting of beloved melodies. The new season also features expanded collaborations with both public and private performing arts groups. Three major productions from the National Theater Company of Korea — "Dangerous Playground" (Aug. 28-31), "The Orphan of Zhao: Seeds of Revenge" (Nov. 21-30) and a new play by Cho Kwang-hwa (May 22-31, 2026) — will be staged at the National Theater. Among private sector collaborations, the production of "The Dresser" (Dec. 27-March 1) stands out. Based on Ronald Harwood's acclaimed play, the work unfolds in a wartime theater dressing room and explores the fragile dynamics of ego, dependency and aging. Veteran actor Song Seung-hwan will star in the lead role.
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.'
Korea Herald
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Interview: Vampire classic ‘Let the Right One In' casts haunting, melancholic magic on stage
Some stories never grow old. Neither does Eli, the eternally young vampire at the heart of "Let the Right One In," the 2004 Swedish novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist that has spawned numerous adaptations -- film, television and stage. This July, the haunting tale returns to Seoul as a chilling, yet tender coming-of-age love story, just in time for the summer heat. Running from July 3 to Aug. 16 at the National Theater of Korea's Haeoreum Theater, the Korean-language stage production makes its long-awaited return nine years after its 2016 local premiere. 'Luckily, the production seems to be timeless like Eli,' said John Tiffany, the Tony and Olivier Award-winning director behind "Once" and "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child." Speaking to the press via video call following an open rehearsal on Tuesday, Tiffany reflected on the enduring life of the piece, which first opened with the National Theatre of Scotland before traveling to London, New York and beyond. 'But it's changed with every new audience and every new actor that's come to work with us,' he said. The story follows Oskar, a lonely, bullied teenage boy who lives with his mother on the outskirts of town. When a string of grisly murders begins to plague the neighborhood, Oskar meets Eli -- the strange girl who moves in next door. What unfolds is a dark, poignant bond between two outsiders: one human, the other something else entirely. Tiffany described "Let the Right One In" as a retelling of the Peter Pan story, which has always fascinated him. 'It's got these melancholy and quiet stories about death and living forever," he said. "And in James Barrie's 'Peter Pan,' you realize that the only way truly to live forever like Peter is to be dead. The dead are immortal. And that's certainly true for Eli, obviously. And you get the sense as the story goes on that Eli is like Peter and Hakan is like Wendy and Oskar is Jane, Wendy's daughter." Tiffany found the dynamics compelling -- not only the vampire mythology, but also its connection to fairy tales and the supernatural. 'These stories reflect aspects of our lives, even though our lives aren't fairy tales or supernatural — though they may feel that way at times,' he said. 'And yet, what 'Let the Right One In' and 'Peter Pan' both tell us is that it's desperately lonely and sad to stay alive and immortal." The director, who has helmed several adaptations from screen and book to stage, including "Once" and "Wild Rose," described the process as one of discovering a story's DNA and rebuilding it using the cells of theater. 'I enjoy seeing how something that's purely cinematic can become purely theater. And theater, to me, is really a genre for horror. I quite like the idea of terrifying people in a live experience." Set to the hauntingly beautiful score by Icelandic composer Olafur Arnalds, which flows like an emotional undercurrent throughout the 140-minute performance, the production also draws its emotional power from dance-like movement sequences created by Tiffany's longtime collaborator, movement director Steven Hoggett. "Oskar finds it hard to describe what he's feeling. He finds it hard to connect and to be understood emotionally," Tiffany explained. "In theater, movement is an incredibly powerful way to explore the desire to communicate, or how to articulate emotion in an emotional story." Tiffany noted how naturally the story fits into the Korean cultural landscape, citing the country's rich tradition of horror storytelling. 'There's a strong tradition of horror in Korean cinema -- films like 'Thirst,' 'The Host' and 'Train to Busan,'" he said. "So it felt like it was coming home in lots of ways."
Korea Herald
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Sold-out final run of 'Godot' by two veteran stars
Shin Gu, Park Geun-hyung donate one night to next generation of theater artists It's not every day a theater production sells out instantly in Korea -- let alone one headlined by two octogenarian actors. But Shin Gu, 88, and Park Geun-hyung, 84, have done it again. Tickets for their final run of 'Waiting for Godot' were snapped up the moment they went on sale. The production runs from Friday through May 25 at the National Theater of Korea's Daloreum Theater. This farewell staging marks the end of a landmark collaboration that has captivated audiences since its 2023 premiere. From its debut at the National Theater in December 2023, to an encore run in 2024 and a 21-city national tour, the production has sold out 102 performances. Samuel Beckett's existential masterwork, a cornerstone of 20th-century absurdist theater, follows two vagabonds, Estragon (played by Shin) and Vladimir (Park), who wait and wait endlessly for a mysterious figure named Godot, who never arrives. Shin and Park, long embraced as familiar father figures and steady on-screen mainstays, deliver an interplay onstage -- seasoned and rhythmic back-and-forth -- that has resonated deeply with audiences. Both in their 80s, they aren't exactly the usual stage heartthrobs -- but the actors credited the show's sold-out success to audiences in their 20s and 30s, a demographic not typically drawn to modernist absurdist drama. 'Young people today live in a world filled with absurdities,' Shin said during a recent press conference. 'I think they connected with the play because the irrational world Beckett created feels close to their own.' Park agreed. 'Waiting for something that may not even exist -- isn't that just like life? Especially for young people today,' he said. 'That's why we decided to dedicate one of our final shows as a donation performance -- to connect with them more directly.' For that one-night benefit performance, scheduled for May 13, both actors waived their appearance fees. In adidtion, all proceeds from that performance, will be donated to a fund established by the Arts Council Korea, a national development agency for the arts of Korea, to support emerging theater artists. 'With all this love we've received, we wondered how we could give something back,' said Shin. 'We wanted to return the favor -- not only with a good performance, but with something that might help younger artists in a meaningful way.' The two said it was disheartening to see that the theater environment they experienced in their youth has changed so little even now. 'The arts need a strong foundation to grow,' Park added. 'Just as a nation needs a solid base to stand upright. Now that we're in the twilight of our lives -- physically and spiritually -- this is something we felt we had to do.' 'The theater world is, in truth, facing a difficult situation. Many actors working in this field are genuinely going hungry. According to statistics, 50 percent of theater actors earn less than 250,000 won ($180) a month purely from theater work,' said Arko Chairman Choung Byoung-gug. 'The seed money will grow into something larger. We'll be launching a campaign to encourage broader donations, building on the generosity of these two great artists,' Choung added.
Korea Herald
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Family-friendly concert presents magical adventure where kids meet traditional Korean instruments
In the enchanted 'Forest of Instrument Trees,' a vibrant scene comes to life. As haegeum and piri musicians perform with flair, their puppet counterparts proudly mimic their movements. Yet, off to the side, the daegeum murmurs in low spirits, 'Unlike other instruments, I'm hollow inside, so I can't play a big role." But the young hero Seonyul intervenes. 'Because you're hollow, there's room for the sound to travel. Song carves a path through the heart." Encouraged, the daegeum steps forward with newfound confidence and begins to play, evoking applause from other instruments. The scene is from Monday's rehearsal of "Shinnarak Mannarak," the National Orchestra of Korea's latest children's concert, part of an on ongoing series since 2004 that aims to introduce traditional music to young children. Inspired by the myth of Seolmundae Halmang — the grandmother goddess who created Jeju Island by scooping soil up from the sea — the story follows Seonyul (whose name means 'melody' in Korean), a child who is the only one able to sing in a world without music. Seonyul sets out to find the "Giant God," who is said to grant wishes, hoping to bring back her mother who has gone far away for work. Along the way, Seonyul stumbles into a magical realm of music, befriends a caterpillar named Omul — small in size but big in heart — and discovers the distinct sounds and charms of traditional Korean instruments. The title comes from a phrase in the Jeju dialect meaning 'when gods and humans meet and rejoice together.' The 60-minute show includes a 10-piece ensemble, four actors and an array of expressive puppets. Veteran pansori performer and director Park In-hye said she 'wanted to capture the analog beauty that comes with well-crafted puppets." Composer and music director Lee Go-woon, a mother of two, noted that she approached the work with her own children in mind. 'I wanted this to be something my kids could genuinely enjoy — a way for them to experience the charm of gugak naturally and joyfully. My hope is that after the show, they'll still be humming the melodies." 'It's an experience where they get to know each instrument,' said Oh Kyung-ja, concert master and geomungo player of the NGO. "Many of our musicians have said they can't wait to show this to their own children — that's how much it means to us." "Shinnarak Mannarak" will run April 22 to May 4 at the National Theater of Korea's Haneul Theater in Seoul.
