People & Culture JUNE 2011 JINDO ISLAND A PHENOMENON OF LAND AND SEA WHITE COLLAR BANDS BECOMING ROCK STARS BY NIGHT KOREAN DANCE The EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL FORMS www.korea.net ISSN: 2005-2162 Contentsjune 2011 VOL.7 NO.06 02 COVER STORY Korean traditional dance grows with the times. 02 12 PEN & BRUSH Artist Park Seo-bo is a pioneer of modernism. 16 PEOPLE Professor Kym Hyo-gun ties logic with music. 20 GREAT KOREAN Hyecho’s epic travels took him to the Silk Road. 22 SEOUL Teheranno combines beauty and convenience. 24 24 TRAVEL Peek into the splendors of Jindo Island’s nature. 28 FESTIVAL The Ganghwa Mugwort Festival boosts health. 29 FLAVOR PUBLISHER Seo Kang-soo, Enjoy cool naengmyeon noodles in summer. Korean Culture and Information Service 30 EDITING HEM KOREA Co., Ltd NOW IN KOREA E-MAIL [email protected] A movement of workers’ bands gains speed. PRINTING Samsung Moonhwa Printing Co. 34 SPECIAL ISSUE All right reserved. No part of this Commemorate fallen allies of the Korean War. publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from KOREA and the Korean Culture and 36 Information Service. SPECIAL ISSUE Hallyu finds new strength in Europe. The articles published in KOREA do not necessarily represent the views of 38 the publisher. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. SUMMIT DIPLOMACY 38 President Lee Myung-bak visits Europe. If you want to receive a free copy of KOREA or wish to cancel a subscription, 42 please e-mail us. A downloadable PDF GLOBAL KOREA file of KOREA, and a map and glossary More doctors volunteer for overseas posts. with common Korean words appearing in our text are available by clicking on the 46 thumbnail of KOREA on the homepage of www.korea.net. MY KOREA A look into the charms of Gosa ceremonies. 발간등록번호 11-1110073-000016-06 cover story The definition of Korean dance is being stretched to include not just traditional dances from the past, but new ballets depicting Korean stories, dances that weave traditional motions into the modern and even the remarkably popular iterations of b-boy crews featured in tourism advertisements. by CedarBough T Saeji | photographs by Park Jeong-roh Dancers perform in the National Dance Company of Korea’s 2009 Gaya. © Yonhap News Agency News Yonhap © Lee Jeong-yun, a longtime member of the A solo violinist in a black suit and gayageum (12-string Korean zither) into unstoppably modern work,” a sentiment National Dance Company of Korea, piece by both the National Dance performs in a modern work alongside fedora walks across the stage, playing the piece Please, Catch Me. that properly encapsulates much of what fellow company dancers (above). Company of Korea and Ahn Eun- Dancers perform in the domestic a haunting melody from the classical KOREA sat down with Ahn in a is happening in the modern dance world production Model House at the me). Chunhyang is best known as an Western tradition as an overhead quiet cafe in Itaewon to talk with her in Korea today. International Modern Dance Festival epic narrative pansori song; it is the (MODAFE) in late May (opposite below). spotlight leaves his face shadowed by about traditional dance, her most recent “I am much interested in A female lead strikes a stance during a Korean Romeo and Juliet. The original performance of Model House, his hat brim. As the music changes, work, Dancing for Grandmother, and incorporating traditional elements into choreographed by Park Hae-joon, which version tells the story of Chunhyang, the stage lights reveal five women in her upcoming presentation of her piece my choreography,” Ahn says. “People explores the many roles of family in life. the daughter of a gisaeng (Korean white, shoulder-baring dresses, gliding Princess Bari at the Edinburgh Fringe usually believe that tradition has to be geisha), and Mongryong, the noble son dramatically across the stage on their Festival in August 2011. Princess Bari is presented in a certain specific way, but of a governor, who secretly marries toes before pausing in long-limbed the company’s works such as Soul, the well-loved Korean story of a fearless I don’t think so. Tradition continues her. They are separated by fate and extension. Although still performed on Sunflower have increasingly used Korean and devoted daughter who ventures to change, and I also want to take my social obligations, and in Mongryong’s Western instruments, the music changes traditional movement vocabulary and to the underworld to bring back the roots, these Korean stories and Korean absence, Chunhyang’s great beauty is to the tune of a Korean folk song sped stories as elements in modern dance water of life for her ailing father. In this consciousness, and create something noted by a corrupt local politician. up to double time to accompany the works. Many regard the integration of performance, Ahn incorporates four new.” A similar motivation seems to These new Korean ballets have begun now violent and explosive movements Western and Eastern elements as the traditionally-trained dancers, a pansori have even spread to the world of ballet. touring extensively overseas, with the of the dancers. This is the opening of future of dance in Korea. singer to belt out the tale and musicians Although ballet, a classic of the Western current schedule presenting The Love Soul, Sunflower, a full-length modern playing Korean traditional instruments dance canon, is unlikely to adopt the of Chunhyang, Shim Chung and Prince dance concert borrowing elements INTEGRATION OF MODERNITY No to fuse Korean tradition with modern use of Korean movement or dancers Hodong in more than 40 cities including from Korean traditional dance. It is discussion of modern dance in Korea dance. Combining these traditional trained in Korean traditional dance, the Naples, Italy; Singapore; Taipei, Taiwan; also one of the major touring pieces in would be complete without mentioning elements with a more empowering re- Universal Ballet Company has added Moscow; and Johannesburg between the repertoire of the National Dance the queen of modern Korean dance interpretation of the tale, Ahn fuses the ballets Shim Chung and The Love 2011 and 2013. In fact, Korean ballet has Company of Korea. Ahn Eun-me. One of Korea’s most traditional and modern dance to create of Chunhyang to their repertoire, and grown up quickly. With several Korean National dance companies tend to active and innovative choreographers, a moving, award-winning production, the Korea National Ballet Company has ballerinas and ballerinos winning major feature the cultural heritage deemed Ahn has presented around the world which showcases the best of dance developed Prince Hodong. The story of international competitions in 2010, authentic to their own locale, so it and frequently works with non-Korean in Korea. An MBC reporter closed Chunhyang is a true Korean classic (it ballet has become a hot trend, especially is not surprising that the company, dancers. Ahn’s choreography includes her news spot on the Princess Bari has been made into an award-winning with the new emphasis on Korean founded in 1962, originally focused on traditional elements in some of the most series saying, “Culture from Korean movie by Im Kwon-taek, a popular stories which renders the art form more Korean traditional dance. However, creative ways since she first incorporated antiquity has been given new life in this below) opposite (left, Festival Dance Modern International (top); Korea of Company Dance National The © Korean TV drama and a modern dance approachable to the Korean public. 04 | korea | june 2011 www.korea.net | 05 Some of these works have appeared dance vocabulary into modern dance is In the past, Korean dance was Korean traditional dress. In addition to medley of 10 Korean traditional dances. major classics of the dance canon, in MODAFE, the International a natural step forward, both for modern inseparable from Korean society. Court the ubiquitous hanbok, there are certain This dance concert contains all the such as Salpurichum (shamanic ritual Modern Dance Festival held dancers and for Korean traditional dances were needed in the era of a court key elements to be found when staging elements an audience expects in Korean exorcism dance) and taepyeongmu annually in the late spring (May dancers. Surprisingly, the Korean that received international envoys and Korean traditional dance. For example, traditional dance, including dancers in (great peace dance). The distinctive 18 to 29) which has become one of government - which once focused wanted to show some form of sedate Korean dance does not have intricate swirling pink, manipulating oversized motions show the dancer casting off Korea’s most exciting international almost exclusively on the protection and Confucian entertainment. Koreans placements or gestures with the fingers fans trimmed with feathers dyed fuchsia the undesired, even drawing an invisible modern dance showcases. Each of the traditional arts, particularly danced, sang and played musical and hands - the hands are often relaxed in Korean classic fan dance. sword to scare away unseen forces. Yi year the festival includes not only during the Park Chung-hee, Chun instruments as part of the daily life in and move together with the wrist and However, many other dances are Yun-seok, National Living Treasure a selection of established and Doo-hwan and Roh Tae- cooperative agricultural communities, arm. Most of the typical gestures trace credited with deeper ties to Korean for Goseong Ogwangdae, explains, emerging Korean modern dance woo administrations - is lightening group work, building interesting curving patterns in the air history; amongst the most fascinating “Traditionally this motion was to stars, but also several overseas now embracing the fusion community and enlivening important and the shoulders are loose, relaxed and of Korea’s staged performing arts are banish ghosts or malevolent spirits.