Korean Nonverbal Performance: a Hybrid PerformaNce art

1. Korean Nonverbal Performance: a Hybrid PerformaNce art Dr. Deborah Cohen, Sogang University Dr.deborahcohen@gmail.com, decohen@sogang.ac.kr

2. Last Summer at HiSeoul Festival http://www.hiseoulfest.org/ • Guest performers Iltopie • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt3uE1uOI4Y

3. Imagine My Surprise • To find Seoul a hotbed of international avantgarde performance • To learn that Seoul audiences are aware ofhow to navigate this type of performance – they know what their role is and how to respond when audiences I have been part of in the past have not

4. (I Wondered) Why? • Is there so much fringe performance in Seoul? • Is the audience so familiar with avantegarde performance conventions?

5. My Hypothesis(Later to Be Proven Wrong!!) • Exposure to MTV Has Led to Koreans to be Familiar with Dream-Like Visual Imagery and unintimidatedby Strange Characters

6. What I’ve Come to Learn (Preliminary Findings) • Elements of Korea’s Traditional Performance Are the Same as Those in AvantGarde Performance (Personal Conversation with Playwright and Sogang University Professor, Hejoon Lee, 2010) • Korea is Leveraging Its Traditional Cultural Assets for Global Success Today

7. My Discussion Today • What are (Some of) Korea’s Traditional Cultural Assets? • How Do These Assets Translate Into Contemporary Nonverbal Performance? • Why is Korea a fertile environment for Nonverbal Performance activity?

8. What are (Some of) Korea’s Traditional Cultural Assets? • Informal performance atmosphere (folk performance) – come and go, no proscenium, interaction between audience and performer • Shamanistic performance – which has an informal performance atmosphere – is an integral part of culture • Reverence for Korean culture • Traditional music including drumming • Physical strength and energy/martial arts (Lee, 2008)

9. Informal performance atmosphere – come and go, no proscenium, interaction between audience and performer • Up until recently, Korea’s performance conventions – generally connected with folk performance - have been more similar to avantgarde than mainstream • Two of Korea’s most globally successful and popular recent productions, Nanta and Jump, have combined elements of traditional Korean performance with mainstream theatrical production elements

10. Shamanistic performance – which has an informal performance atmosphere – has been an integral part of culture(Lee, 2008, Lee, 2010) • Hejoon Lee explains that while Shamans in the North operate as trance channels displaying much less well developed performance technique but southern shamans in the south present a highly developed performance ritual • Let’s watch Kim, Keumhwa, considered to be one of the greatest masters of shaman performance • Youtube: Maan Shin Kim Keum Hwa (4 mins)

11. Reverence for National Culture(The Title of the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Website is Cultural Heritage, the Source for Korean’s Strength and Dream) • Embodied through the Cultural Heritage Protection Act and the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, 2006; Lee, 2008) • The State-designated heritage is divided into seven categories including the following:6. National TreasuresImportant Intangible Cultural Heritages Intangible cultural heritage, such as drama, music, dance and craftsmanship, carrying great historic, artistic or academic values • 7. Important Folklore Materials Clothing, implements and houses used for daily life and businesses, transportation and communications, entertainment and social life, and religious or annual events, that are highly valuable for the understanding of the transition in people's lifestyle and mores

12. Traditional music including drumming is an example of an asset that has been migrated into the performance of today • Let’s watch a traditional Korean drumming performance Youtube: Korean Drum Performance – Chanmin 100 • Then let’s watch the drumming in popular production, Nanta Youtube: Korea: Cookin’ Nanta Preview

13. Why is Korea Such a Fertile Environment for Nonverbal Performance? • Tourism has been identified by its leaders as a critical activity for Korea’s success and culture an important component of tourism • Performers are willing to devote themselves to the development of nonverbal performance because they perceive a need to be internationally mobile

14. Simple Formulae Government + Performers = Alliance Based on Common Interests

15. More Sophisticated Formulae Government + Performers Alliance Based on Common Interests Minus Language (a barrierto Global Involvement) Nonverbal Performance

16. Thank you! Let’s end by watching the physical strength and energy demonstrated in the grand finale of Jump.

17. References Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea. (2006) Heritage Information. Retrieved from http://jikimi.cha.go.kr/english/search_plaza_new/state.jsp, December 2010. 2010 HiSeoul Festival (2010). Retrieved from http://www.hiseoulfest.org/ Lee, H. (2008). Global fetishism: dynamics of transnational performance in contemporary South Korea (Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas). Retrieved from http://repositories1.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/3877/leeh36853.pdf?sequence=2, December 2010 Whee, K. J. & Hong-beom, A. (2007). Korea’s nonverbal performance groups garner acclaim on the world stage. Koreana, Spring 2007. Youtube: Caged Foam (Iltopie), Jump – All Members and Grand Finale, Korea: Cookin’ Nanta Preview, Korean Drum Performance (Chanmin 100), Man Shin Kim KeumHwa, retrieved from www.youtbe.com, December 2010