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.'
