The Seoul Players presents the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a hit Broadway musical presented in English.
Can you spell ``crepuscule?'' How about ``omphaloskepsis?'' Participants in the annual bee hope they can.
Six quirky kids (played by adults) compete in the bee, including a boy with a magic foot, a girl with two ultra-competitive dads and a genius who speaks six languages.
The bee is overseen by three equally eccentric adults who invite four audience members to participate at each performance.
Winner of two Tony Awards, ``Spelling Bee'' which opened on Broadway in 2005 is a hilarious, light-hearted musical for everyone who's lived through the pains of adolescence.
The music and lyrics are by William Finn, the book by Rachael Sheinkin and the piece was conceived by Rebecca Feldman. The production ran in Korea in 2007, entirely in Korean aside from the words spelled in the bee.
Currently, there are hundreds of productions around the world, including a national U.S. tour. This is the first time it will be performed in Seoul in English.
Seoul Players is an English-speaking community theater company in Seoul. Established in 2001 as a non-profit organization, the company consists of ex-pats and Koreans who delight in bringing English-language theater to audiences in Seoul.
The show will run from May 29 through June 13, at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 5 p.m. on Sundays at Roofers Bar in Itaewon. Tickets cost 10,000 won.
Reservations can be made at seoulspellingbee@gmail.com. Seating is limited so booking early is recommended. For more information, contact Margaret Whittum at seoulplayers@gmail.com or visit https://www.seoulplayers.com.
On May 25, the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) will present the lecture ``Superstitions and Perceptions of Early Korea-Western Relations'' by Robert Neff.
Following the opening of Korea to the West in 1882, Westerners entered Korea for various reasons.
To all who came, Korea was a newly-found frontier and an undiscovered market for what they had to offer.
This lecture will focus on the interaction between these early Westerners and their Korean hosts by examining Korean superstitions and the perceptions and misperceptions of Westerners and Koreans.
The introduction to Korea of various technologies was, in the beginning, viewed with suspicion and fear by some of the more superstitious locals.
Often these first encounters with these new technologies provided humorous anecdotes but occasionally ended in violence.
The Westerners tended to either look upon these Korean superstitions as quaint or with disdain but were not above using them for their own gain, as will be demonstrated in the lecture.
Perception, or perhaps misperception, was also a factor in early Korean-Western relations. Sometimes, misperceptions led to awkward and embarrassing encounters such as young Korean boys mistaken for bold girls or a young American male missionary mistaken for a young pretty lady.
Other times, these misperceptions led to violence as during the Baby Riots which will be discussed in detail.
Neff is a freelance writer and historical researcher specializing in Korean history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
He first came to Korea with the military over two decades ago and has a deep appreciation for Korean culture and its history.
He is the co-author of Korea Through Western Eyes as well as Westerner's Life in Korea and his writings have appeared in various newspapers, magazines and books including Christian Science Monitor, Asia Times, Morning Calm, Korea Witness, Royal Asiatic Society ― Transactions, Korea Times, Korea Herald and Jeju Weekly.
RAS is a non-profit volunteer based organization that has been operating in Korea for over 100 years. The society organizes two lectures a month by English-speaking experts in given areas such as Korean culture, history and current affairs.
The lecture will run from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. at Somerset Palace, in the Residents' Lounge on the second floor. It is free for RAS members and 5,000 won for non-members.
Membership for one year can be obtained at the lecture for 50,000 won per individual or 80,000 per family.
To get to the Somerset Lounge, head to Anguk Station, line 3, exit 6, or Jonggak Station line 1, exit 2. It is located on the same block as Jogye Temple and the Jongno-gu Office, just past the Japanese Embassy.
For more information, visit: https://www.raskb.com
Prague-based branding agency, Firefly Branding, which is focused on brand and corporate identity, is launching a new exhibition ``Connecting Prague ― Seoul''' by presenting the branding design work of Korean graphic designer Shin Ji-won and Czech glass designer and sculptor Rony Plesl.
Shin started her career in Seoul where she led the Samsung corporate identity creation from its initial creative phase through to its final system development.
In 1994, she moved to New York City where she worked for several prominent companies, focusing on the creation of corporate and brand identity.
In 2001, she joined FutureBrand as a creative director, and three years later, she established her own company, Firefly Branding.
Brands developed by Shin for Samsung, UPS, Marriott, Nautica, Voom, Long Island Children's Museum, Eta, Halada City, Seddons and Eventival will be showcased at the exhibition.
Rony Plesl is currently ranked among the most successful and famous Czech glass artists and designers.
He is part of a new generation of Czech artists who are reinterpreting traditional techniques to produce modern design. He works with a number of significant glassworks and glass producers in the Czech Republic and abroad.
Combining Czech glass technique and the Korean tradition of drinking soju, Rony has created a special set exclusively for Firefly Branding called ``Firefly Set'' which consists of a carafe and four glasses.
Unique works of famous uranium vases, glasses and the exclusive ``Firefly Set'' will be showcased by Rony at the exhibition.
A special animation produced by Firefly Branding with music composed by Mark Ludwig and Richard Sebring of Turquoise Bee Productions, will also be shown as part of the exhibition.
This 21st century design exhibition is at the medieval Old Town Hall building in the heart of Seoul where the beauty of old Prague will meet with new, modern Czech and Korean design.
As this exhibition is an extraordinary sample of close and intensive Czech-Korean cooperation in a field of design, it is supported by Jaroslav Olsa, Jr., ambassador of the Czech Republic to Seoul.
The exhibition will be opened by Michael W. Posp?sil, director general of Czech Centers, a global network of Czech cultural and information centers, accompanied by Shin on May 18 at the Czech Info Center, Castle Praha, Mapo-gu.
It will run from May 19 to June 20 and is open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesdays and Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more information, visit https://czechinfo.or.kr
BH Productions present the final Korean shows of Marie Jones' two man play "Stones in His Pockets" in Busan this weekend.
``Stones in His Pockets'' is a sad, hilarious and irresistible show about the filming of a Hollywood epic in rural Ireland.
Two extras on the film, Charlie and Jake, tell the story by taking on all the roles themselves.
Much of the comedy of the play is derived from the efforts of the production crew to create the proper ``Irish feel,'' a romanticized notion that often conflicts with the reality of daily life.
After four successful years in the West End, a sensational run on Broadway, and a sell-out world tour, BH Productions is pleased to stage ``Stones in His Pockets'' for the first time in Korea in English.
The show will be at Ol' 55 in Busan on May 21 to 22 at 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. To get to Ol' 55, take exit 3 of Kyungsung University Station and turn right at the IBK bank. Walk for about two minutes. Ol' 55 is on the right-hand side, under Family Mart.
Tickets are 16,000 won for the performance but meal/drink specials are available. Reservations can be made at
and are recommended. For more information, call 019-802-2474 or 016-695-4624.