Storyteller who tells about kimchi making in English
Storyteller Kim Seung-ah / Courtesy of Kim Seung-ah
By Kim Se-jeong
Kim Seung-ah, 40, is said to be Korea’s first professional storyteller.
She makes a living by telling stories on stage, often with song and acting.
Stories are varied, from well-known Korean folktales to stories of her own creation using her personal experiences or those of her family and friends.
She tells stories in English, one of which is “Kimchi Story.”
“I am not a good cook,” Kim said. “But when I was abroad, I had to cook for myself and needed to tell my friends how to make kimchi. It was hard for me. So I decided to make up a story so that I could tell people how to make kimchi.”
Her name is relatively unknown in Korea, but she is well received in the global storytelling community.
She participated in the 2007 Toronto Festival of Storytelling in Canada. Two years ago, she represented Korea at the Singapore International Storytelling Festival, which was followed by similar festivals in Kea and Athens, Greece, and Rome and Bolzano, Italy. In June of this year, she also participated in the Signana International Storytelling Festival held in Nairobi, Kenya.
What is storytelling? “Everyone is familiar with storytelling. They heard stories from mothers and grandmothers. It is a way to communicate and feel human with others. This is also a way to relate yourself to others.”
Her new initiative, Arirang Storytelling Concert, is one way to make storytelling more known in Korea. She will have performances in Seoul starting in September. Her storytelling is done in English, and because of this, it has always amused those who are not familiar with Korean stories.
“This is a good window to spread Korean culture to the world,” Kim said. She is particularly happy with the new series of concerts because “I have always dreamed about putting together ‘verbal’ performances that would attract visitors. This performance is my dream come true.”
Her passion for storytelling grew out of her career as a teacher.
She taught English as a second language to children in the early 2000s. While studying to get an English teaching certificate, she encountered storytelling.
“I found it healing for my emotional wounds. I fell in love with storytelling and it changed my life,” she said.
She looked out for every storytelling opportunity so she could practice and get her name out. Kim said storytelling has helped her find and fill all of her potential. “When I was young, I was a shy girl. I am totally changed now thanks to storytelling. If my childhood friends could see me today, they’d be shocked.”
She is also teaching storytelling to students. “Storytelling is a human-to-human interaction. There are many media through which you can hear stories, but they have no human contact. That’s why human storytelling is important.”