Korean traditional arts take center stage on European tour

Korea’s traditional rhythms, masked dances and epic storytelling are heading to European stages next month in a three-country tour designed to bring the energy of its intangible cultural heritage to international audiences.

The National Intangible Heritage Center, under the Korea Heritage Service, said Thursday that “K-Intangible Heritage Festival: Pungjang Korea” would stage performances in Budapest on Wednesday, Podgorica on Nov. 8 and Ankara on Nov. 13.

More than 20 performers, including practitioners of nationally recognized intangible heritage and contemporary artists, will combine traditional music, dance and theatrical performance in a production making its European debut.

The tour is intended to raise the international profile of Korean cultural heritage while introducing audiences unfamiliar with its traditional arts to the exuberance and communal spirit at the heart of these performances.

The program unfolds across four scenes, opening with “Mungut,” a ritual that launches the performance, followed by “Saemgut,” which invokes life and well-being.

“Jisinbapgi” draws on the pansori epic “Jeokbyeokga,” reflecting on war and expressing hopes for peace, before “Dwitgut” brings performers and audiences together through music and dance.

Among the featured artists is Yoon Jin-cheol, a master performer recognized for his rendition of “Jeokbyeokga,” one of the five surviving traditional pansori epics.

The lineup also includes Akdan Gwangchil, The Gwangdae, Yeonhui Jumchuri, contemporary dance troupe Sinabro Gaseume and composer and singer Bang Cho-rong.

Director Cheon Jae-hyeon, who staged the center’s 2024 opening performance “Pungjang, Opening a New Path,” will lead the production.

The Podgorica performance carries particular significance, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Montenegro and marking the first presentation of a Korean traditional performance in the country, according to the center.

Performances in Hungary and Türkiye are being organized in connection with Touring K-Arts, a program supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange.

The center said it would use the festival to support international opportunities for practitioners of intangible heritage and build lasting exchanges with overseas cultural institutions.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.