HS Hi Seoul Fest to Mark Han River
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Living in Seoul offers various aspects, from a tech-savvy environment to skyscrapers, but one easy-to-forget feature is the Han River, or Hangang.
In order to celebrate and appreciate its existence, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture is holding their summer ``Hi Seoul Festival'' under the theme Han River.
``We wanted people to come back to the river again. (Some) do use it, but not as much as people would expect. I ride a bike and the river is beautiful,'' Roger Rynd, artistic director of the festival, told The Korea Times in an interview.
Rynd is the first foreigner to be in charge of the Hi Seoul Festival. The 49-year-old director has been working with Korean artists for 14 years and he is the art director of Australia's REM Theater and Korea's LATT Children's Theater.
``The key word for this festival is participation. Participation is big because Seoul citizens will be the ones who will do it,'' he said.
The festival is comprised of various programs citizens and visitors can participate in and have fun. The venues ― Yeouido, Seonyu Island and Ttukseom Park ― are all close to the Han River.
The first ever ``Han River Bird Man Competition'' will offer great fun not only to participants but viewers as well. The competition will be divided into three categories: technical, funny and costume.
``Just come dressed as a penguin and jump. It will be fun and who knows, you might even get a prize,'' Rynd said.
There will be a ``Canoe Festival'' where people can ride in a canoe with others along the Han River. If you are up for a challenge, join the Dragon Boat Race and compete with friends, families and neighbors.
Various performances will also grant fans with surreal experiences.
Among those, ``Monster Ballet'' is one event festival organizers recommend watching. Choreographed by Kim Yong-geol, the first Korean to join the Paris Opera Ballet in 2002, the performance offers the true meaning of beauty through the delicate movements of ballerinas and the rough exterior of mechanical diggers.
``Machines may dominate people someday, and I wondered what we should preserve when that happens. My answer was beauty and I tried to portray it through the delicate movements within a very monstrous setting,'' Kim said at a press conference held last week.
The Shenzo's Electric Stunt Orchestra from Australia will offer music above the visitors' heads by flying and spinning in the air, with their instruments, attached to wires. Dislocate, another Australian acrobatic group, will heighten the festivity by sharing their shows that combine mime, and elements of the circus, dance and theater.
Dance to the beat of renowned DJs including Australian DJ Rainman at ``Mix It Up! Dance DJ'' and also enjoy jazz tunes played by Australian jazz group the Blacktop Rollers and a local band comprised of foreigners living in Seoul called ``South Mountain'' near the river.
For tech-savvy citizens and visitors, festival organizers have prepared an online festival called ``My Strange Seoul'' with a Website where people can post photos and clips of Seoul and the festival and share them with the world. The Website is in four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
``I would like people to just come out to the Han river and think wow, I could have traveled thousands of miles and wouldn't have got this but I'm getting it right here,'' said Rynd.
He has indeed prepared a festival that even surprised the organizers for it's large scale and content. But all that matters was what the Han River meant to him and that he simply wanted to share it with Seoul citizens.
``What strikes me most about Seoul is the sense of history and also the history of movement into the future. The river has seen so many things and that's what fascinates me the most,'' Rynd said.
The festival runs from Aug. 9 to 17 at Yeouido, Ttukseom Park and Seonyu Island. For more information visit www.hiseoulfest.org