Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater opens
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A performance troupe rehearses on the stage of Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater ahead of the opening performance on Thursday. / Courtesy of Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater
By Yun Suh-young
A theater specially built to host traditional music performances opens Thursday in Jongno-gu, northern Seoul.
Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater, across the street from Changdeok Palace, is the first traditional music concert hall to open in Seoul. Donhwamun is the name of Changdeok Palace’s front gate.
The theater is built to maximize acoustics. The building mixes traditional and modern elements, in a traditional exterior structure and a modern interior setting. The exterior is built as traditional Korean hanok architecture and uses traditional elements inside the theater, such as changhoji, a traditional Korean paper made from mulberry bark, which was originally used for doors and windows.
The performances are microphone and speaker-free, offering the most natural sound. The theater, in the basement of the building on the second and third floors below ground, has 140 seats that are spread out like a fan and on a slope to enhance the field of vision. The seating also allows sound to spread equally across the audience, and even those in the very back rows feel close to the stage.
“The strength of this theater is that it is a specialized theater for traditional music, much like the recently opened Lotte Concert Hall which specializes in classical music,” said Lee Seung-yoon, president of Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater. “Unlike in the past when multipurpose theaters were the trend, now we are moving toward special-purpose theaters. We’re representative in the field of traditional Korean music.
“What’s also notable is our location. This area is where the city plans to cluster traditional culture facilities.”
The area used to be home to traditional musicians and was where traditional music academies existed.
Work on the theater began in 2013, replacing a gas station. There are also plans to build a folk music museum and a gugak (traditional music) museum nearby.
The theater plans to incorporate a wide spectrum of genres, from folk music to creative music, offering programs to cater to the different tastes of visitors. The theater will not hold yearlong regular performances but offer different programs every few months for variety.
For the opening on Thursday, there will be ceremonial performances by pansori master Ahn Sook-sun, samulnori master Kim Deok-soo’s troupe and the National Gugak Center’s music troupe. On Thursday and Saturday, the outdoor festival Donhwamun Sandae will offer 22 performances in the theater’s garden and on the street.
On the following days from Sept. 2 to 10, the opening festival Byeolyaeak will be held. There will be various performances such as folk music, creative music, chamber music, a shamanistic exorcism ritual, sanjo (free-style solo) and a marionette show. Tickets for the opening festival are 20,000 won and can be reserved through the theater’s home page or Interpark.
“We plan to attract many foreigners,” said Kim Jeong-seung, the theater’s artistic director. “We will include English explanations for all performances starting next year so that any foreigner who randomly attends a performance can understand what it’s about.
“We also plan to collaborate with Changdeok Palace so that we can promote our performances from inside the palace and lure tourists to cross the street.”