Chuseok holiday filled with performances for families

By Yun Suh-young

The record-long Chuseok vacation won't bore performance-goers, as arts centers will offer a plethora of events to enjoy -- as usual.

It may be the perfect opportunity for those who aren't leaving the city to conquer more of the exhibitions and performances on their checklists.

Seoul Arts Center

Some of the hottest exhibitions at the Seoul Arts Center (SAC) will disappear after the Chuseok holiday, so make sure not to miss them.

The "Vogue Like a Painting" exhibition will run only until Oct. 7. It features 100 beautiful fashion photographs extracted from the fashion magazine Vogue over the past 125 years. This exhibition is also the first of its kind to be held in Seoul, following its first exhibition in Spain in 2015. There are mesmerizing photos by famous fashion photographers such as Irving Penn, Paolo Roversi, Peter Lindbergh and Tim Walker. In the Seoul exhibition, there are 40 pieces that weren't exhibited in Spain as well as 20 additional Korea-related photographs prepared by Vogue Korea.

The Karim Rashid exhibition "Design Your Self" will also only run until Oct. 7. The exhibition has a collection of colorful works by the designer, who is well-known in Korea. Around 350 pieces of furniture, commercial products, media art, design sketches and other objects are featured in the exhibition, which makes it the largest in scale among those in held in Asia.

The "LIFE" exhibition which features photography from the famed but perished magazine LIFE will run until Oct. 8.

The famous Chinese painter Qi Baishi's whimsical artworks will also be available until Oct. 8. The good news is, from Oct. 3 to 5, the exhibition will be free for visitors.

The Moomin Original Artworks Exhibition will run until Nov. 26. The exhibition features original art of the beloved Finnish animation character Moomin, which is the first of its kind to be exhibited in Seoul. It may be the perfect exhibition for families with children, as the character is adored by kids. There will be walking Moomin characters to greet visitors.

The hours for admission are between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. for all exhibitions. Visit sac.or.kr for more information.

As for performances, there will be free outdoor screenings of famous performances offered to visitors from Oct. 5 to 7 at the outdoor plaza at 7 p.m.

Performances of ballet "Simcheong" by Universal Ballet, family opera "Magic Flute" and play "Treasure Island" will offered on screen, as part of the regular "SAC on Screen" program offered by the arts venue.

Sejong Center for the Performing Arts

North of the Han River, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and its affiliate venues also have plenty to offer. Some have limited edition tickets as well as discounted offers for those who attend wearing hanbok (traditional dress) during the Chuseok holiday.

Puccini's famed opera "La Boheme" will be on show Oct. 6 to 7 at the Sejong Center. On Oct. 7, folk singer Han Young-ae has a performance scheduled at the venue. The same day, in the back garden of the center, there will be an art market called SoSo open from noon to 6 p.m. with individual artists selling their artwork. A free jazz performance will also be offered by the crew of Jarasum Jazz Festival.

Graphic artist M.C. Escher's exhibition will be available until Oct. 15. Also, the Sejong, Chungmugong Story program for children will be available throughout.

Some tickets will be discounted during Chuseok such as tenor Park Ji-min's "Classic Generation: Humor & Humanity" which will be offered at a 40 percent discount between Oct. 1 and 9.

Opera "Cosi Fan Tutte" which runs Nov. 21 to 25 will offer a special ticket package with an R seat ticket with a Hilton hotel buffet discount voucher, limited for 10 packages. For more information, call 02-399-1000.

At the cultural center Samcheonggak, an affiliate of the Sejong Center in Seongbuk-dong, a fusion gugak (traditional music) performance will be held where guests can enjoy music while dining. The lunch concert "Jami" will be offered on Oct. 5 and 6 at 12 p.m. and the dinner concert "Jinchan" will be offered on Oct. 4 and 5 at 5 p.m. For Jami, those wearing a hanbok will be given a discount up to 30,000 won. For more information, call (02) 765-3700.

At the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater, also an affiliate of the Sejong Center located in front of Changdeok Palace, a gayageum performance "Future Masterpieces" will be offered on Sept. 30 while on Chuseok day which falls on Oct. 4, it offers a free tuho (dart) throwing game, hanbok try-on program and songpyeon (half-moon-shaped rice cake) making programs. The first two will be from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. while the songpyeon program is from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and only offered to foreigners and multicultural families based on prior phone reservations. At 5 p.m., free fusion traditional vocal music will be offered by a four-member female ensemble. For more information, call (02) 3210-7001.

National museums

The National Museum of Korea will be open all days except Oct. 4. On Oct. 5 it will offer traditional performances at the open square in front of the museum.

The National Hangeul Museum will also be open all days except Oct. 4. In commemoration of Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, the museum will offer various programs related to Hangeul from Oct. 8 to 9.

The National Folk Museum has 31 events prepared for the Chuseok holiday, from traditional cultural activities to traditional food sharing. The museum will be open all days except Oct. 4.

The National Gugak Center will be open all days during Chuseok but closed on Oct. 10. It will offer family-oriented traditional performances including "Kkokdu" by filmmaker Kim Tae-yong. The performance will be 50 percent discounted from Oct. 4 to 8.

National palaces will be open throughout the vacation period for free. Changgyeong Palace has a special event re-enacting daily life at the palace scheduled Oct. 7 and 8, and Deoksu Palace will offer traditional activities.

Streets

During the Chuseok holiday street festivals will take place at various venues in Seoul, namely Gwanghwamun Plaza and Seoul Square.

The Seoul Street Arts Festival will be held from Oct. 5 to 8, inviting 48 performers from eight countries such as Spain, Argentina, Ireland, Switzerland, France, England and Finland. There will be 150 street performances throughout the period.

Opening the festival will be a performance called "Muare Experience" featuring Voala, a group of Spain and Argentinean actors with British rock band Duchamp Pilot, collaborating on a mesmerizing airborne performance. Voala will be mounting huge structures in the air with live music in the background. This is their first performance in Seoul. Also on opening day, singer Lee Seung-hwan's band will perform on stage.

On Oct. 5 and 6, dance troupe Cie Yann Lheureux's "Gravity.0" will showcase clown-like movements on a trampoline.

Closing the festival will be Spain's Deabru Beltzak with "Su A Feu" and "Transforming Seoul" with Korean indie band Asian Chairshot. The performance will include fireworks and dances.

In between the opening and closing, many more performances are scheduled. Visit festivalseoul.or.kr for more information.