Busan Museum to bring classic British authors off the page, into the air
A poster for the "Voices of the Masters" event on Jan. 11 / Courtesy of Busan Museum
BUSAN — The Busan Museum will host "Voices of the Masters," a live performance event that invites people to experience British literature as spoken word rather than text on a page, this Sunday.
The event is organized in connection with the museum's current exhibition, "Writers Revealed: 500 Years of Literature and Art from Shakespeare," and presented in partnership with Liquid Arts Network, which marks its 25th anniversary this year.
Twelve performers — writers, musicians, artists and educators based in Busan and elsewhere in Korea — will present excerpts from authors featured in the exhibition. Works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Ian Fleming, George Orwell, Sylvia Plath, Zadie Smith, Seamus Heaney, Rudyard Kipling and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are on the program.
Performances will include literary readings, spoken word, poetry and limited musical interpretation. Commentary is minimal and used only when helpful for context, ensuring that the text itself remains central. Rather than academic lectures or analysis, the event emphasizes voice, rhythm and emotional connection.
"The goal is not to summarize or explain these works," organizers said, "but to let people hear them, feel them and connect with them in a shared space."
The event reflects the long-standing role of Liquid Arts Network in Busan's international cultural scene. Founded in 2000, the organization has spent 25 years presenting art, supporting artists and connecting communities through literature, music and interdisciplinary performance. Its collaboration with the Busan Museum highlights how grassroots international arts communities continue to contribute to the city's cultural landscape.
Kenneth May, founder and creative director of Liquid Arts, said the event reflects the organization's approach.
"Liquid Arts has always rooted its performances of poetry in the oral tradition," he said. "For this event, our aim is to lift literature — that many find inaccessible — off the page and into the air."
A guided tour of the exhibition in English will follow the performance at 3:30 p.m.
The event is open to all, and organizers specifically hope to attract foreign residents, English speakers of varied proficiency, students, and Koreans interested in British literature and live performance. Families are welcome, and no prior familiarity with the featured authors is required.
Doors open at 1:30 p.m., with the performance running from 2-3 p.m. in the Busan Museum auditorium.
Preregistration costs 20,000 won and closes on Friday at 5 p.m. Tickets provide admission to both the performance and the exhibition. On-site registration will be available for 25,000 won, subject to capacity.
Ian Hoffman is a bilingual Korean-English educator and host of Korean Patch, a language learning channel on YouTube. He writes The Weekly Dispatch, a Korean-language graded news publication designed for learners. He has lived in Korea for more than 10 years and is based in Busan.