Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
2019 Project Contemporary Series showcases mixture of old and new
Various artists present three concerts from Dec. 23 to 25 at the Jeongdong 1928 Art Center, each combining elements of traditional Korean and modern arts. The eight-member project group Lee Nalchi Band will perform pansori singing accompanied by electronic music. Courtesy of Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation
By Anna J. Park
By Anna J. Park
The Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation holds three special concerts in a row this week, Monday through Wednesday ― Christmas Day. Titled “2019 Project Contemporary Series,” each of the three concerts is a 90-minute performance, mixing elements of the old and new of what's unique about Korean arts.
The Project Contemporary Series started its first installment last year to delve into a recurring question among contemporary artists: what is traditional art in today's context?
This year's three concerts aim to showcase traditional Korean arts' innate popular appeal to the public with various artists combining elements of traditional Korean arts and modern styles. Audiences can get a rare opportunity to enjoy these unique and free-spirited performances that are very Korean yet modern at the same time.
Mimi Sisters / Courtesy of Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation
On Monday evening, music groups Mimi Sisters, Tres BONBON, Lee Hee-moon and nomnom, DJ Soulscape as well as DJ Yohei Hasegawa will perform a collaborated set, presenting a wide range of minyo ― traditional Korean folk music.
The show will feature everything from centuries-old traditional folk songs like “Ongheya,” and “Quejina Ching Ching Nane” to popular folk songs of the 1960s and 1970s, done in a newly created style of the 21th century. Audiences can listen to familiar and recognizable melodies of the folk songs in contemporary genres of music, such as rock, reggae and jazz.
Official poster image of the 2019 Project Contemporary Series / Courtesy of Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation
In the second concert of the series on Tuesday ― Christmas Eve ― the eight-member project group Lee Nalchi Band will perform the traditional Korean storytelling and singing genre of pansori accompanied by electronic rhythms and beats, instead of traditional drum sounds.
The group consists of five pansori vocalists, two bassists and one drummer; extracts of “Chunhyangga” and “Sugungga,” two of the five pansori epics that have been passed down to the present day, will be performed on stage, presenting a whole new musical experience of mixing pansori and electronic music.
On Christmas Day, saxophonist Son Sung-jae of the Near East Quartet, pansori performer Lee So-yeon and percussionist Kim So-wol will jointly present a unique performance inspired by director Shin Sang-ok's 1961 film “Seong Chun-hyang.”
The film is based on the traditional pansori epic story of “Chunhyangga,” and the musicians add electronic music as well as traditional pansori sounds to their performance of the decades-old piece, expanding audiences' perceptions on what is tradition and what is new.
From left, percussionist Kim So-wol, pansori vocalist Lee So-yeon and saxophonist Son Sung-jae. Courtesy of Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation
The first two concerts on Monday and Tuesday will be held at 8 p.m. at Jeongdong 1928 Art Center in central Seoul, and the last concert on Christmas Day will be held at 5 p.m. at the same venue. All tickets cost only 10,000 won. For more information, visit kotpa.org or call 02-745-3880.