2010.8.25 TICKET
Independent artists perform at the playground near Hongik University in western Seoul as part of the Seoul Fringe Festival, which runs through Saturday. The festival features theater, dance, mime, performance art and music at venues in and around the university. See FESTIVALS, below. [NEWSIS]
MUSIC
MAHLER 2010 SERIES II
Seoul Arts Center, Concert Hall
Thursday: The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s maestro Myung-Whun Chung will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection.” Featured artists include soprano Lee Myung-Joo and mezzo-soprano Petra Lang.
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets range from 10,000 won ($8.39) to 100,000 won.
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5
(02) 3700-6300, www.sac.or.kr
ABSOLUTE CLASSIC II
Seongnam Arts Center, Concert Hall
Friday to Saturday: Virtuoso cellist and emerging conductor Han-na Chang will lead the Absolute Classic Festival Orchestra in Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major D. 485 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68, on Saturday. The repertoire for Friday has not yet been confirmed.
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets range from 10,000 won to 50,000 won.
Imae Station, Bundang line, exit 1
(031) 783-8000, www.snart.or.kr
GWANGJU WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL
Gwangju, South Jeolla
Friday to Sunday: The inaugural year of what is to become an annual festival features jazz, French chanson, Brazilian bossa nova, tango from Argentina as well as traditional Korean music including pansori. The majority of concerts will be free, except for the four concerts to be held at Bitgoeul Hall on Friday and Saturday.
Tickets cost 20,000 won for those who reserve in advance over the Internet at ticket.auction.co.kr or 30, 000 won at the door.
From Seoul, take the KTX from Yongsan Station to Gwangju and go to Geumnamro 4-ga Station, line No. 1, exit 2.
Concert times vary.
(062) 350-2473-4, www.gjwmf.com/index/eng
BEETHOVEN SONATA
FEAST OF 32 PIANISTS
Seoul Arts Center, Recital Hall
Friday: This is the third concert commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Beethoven Association of Korea. The program includes Sonata No. 9 in E minor, Op. 14-1; Sonata No. 18 in E major, Op. 31-3; and Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90.
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets cost 20,000 won.
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5
(02) 3436-5929, www.sac.or.kr
BAJOFONDO
Ax Korea
Saturday: Electro-tango ensemble Bajofondo presents its first concert in Seoul. The seven-year-old band will perform tracks from its third album, the 2008 megahit “Mar Dulce.”
The concert starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets cost 88,000 won.
Gwangnaru Station, line No. 5, exit 2
(010) 4265-5352, www.ax-korea.com
EXHIBITION OF SOUND WITH ERDOS HAN
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Grand Theatre
Sept. 17: The Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Music Orchestra is expanding its scope in this concert featuring music and painting. The performance was organized in conjunction with Erdos Han, a western painter.
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets range from 20,000 won to 120,000 won.
Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 1 or 8
(02) 399-1721, www.sejongpac.or.kr
THEATER
DARAK
Star City
Until Aug. 31: This horror-inducing play follows a newlywed couple that moves into a house that was previously owned by one of the husband’s friends. Upon moving in, the couple starts to hear strange sounds. When the wife slowly starts to go insane, the husband urges her to go see a therapist but she refuses. The play follows the wife’s transformation and ultimately reveals why she has become this way.
Performances are at 9 p.m. on Mondays, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 p.m. on Sundays. There are no performances on Wednesdays.
Tickets range from 5,600 won for children to 29,600 won for VIP seats.
Hyehwa Station, line No. 4, exit 4
(02) 747-9139
GOODBYE MOM
Chungmu Art Hall
Until Sept. 19: This melodrama features popular actresses Gum Bo-ra and So Yu-jin in an emotional mother-daughter story. The mother, played by Gum, constantly discourages her daughter - played by So - who wants to be a novelist. Despite this negativity, the daughter continues to pursue her dream.
Performances are at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, 8 p.m. on Thursdays, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets range from 25,000 won to 45,000 won.
Sindang Station, line No. 6, exit 9
(02) 2230-6600, www.cmah.or.kr
CLOSER
Art One Theater
Until Oct. 10: The Korean production of “Closer,” the award-winning play by English playwright Patrick Marber, stars popular film and television actress Moon Geun-yeong and actor Um Gi-joon. The play, which was also made into a film, focuses on the complicated relationship between two couples and their betrayal.
Performances are at 8 p.m. on weekdays and 3 and 7 p.m. on weekends. There are no performances on Mondays.
Tickets range from 25,500 won to 51,600 won.
Hyehwa Station, line No. 4, exit 2
(02) 764-8760, www.theatergroupeda.com
THE KING IS THE KING
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Sejong M Theatre
Sept. 3 to 19: This is the second in the World Contemporary Play Series following “Darwin’s Tortoise” in 2009 and the first Arabic play introduced in Korea. It is told in the tradition of the One Thousand and One Nights collection of folk tales, and is a fable about power and desire.
Performances start at 8 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 3 and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. The show will be at 5 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 17.
Tickets range from 20,000 won to 30,000 won.
Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 1 or 8
(02) 399-1135, www.sejongpac.or.kr
ROJAS & RODRIGUEZ SANGRE FLAMENCO
Universal Arts Center
Sept. 8 to 12: Nuevo Ballet Espanol with Rojas and Rodriguez will perform in Korea for the first time. The 90-minute performance is accompanied by a live band featuring guitar, violin, cello, percussion and two singers.
Tickets range from 55,000 won to 150,000 won.
Achasan Station, line No. 5, exit 4
(02) 517-0394, cafe.daum.net/sangreflamenca
TRADITIONAL KOREAN PERFORMANCES
2010 MYRIADE WAVE CONCERT
Bukchon Changwoo Theater
Sept. 3 to Nov. 6: Consisting of 36 concerts over a three-month period, this event will feature Korean traditional music performances with a variety of traditional musical instruments, including the geomungo, a type of zither. Twelve teams selected through a competition will present their work, as will six Korean traditional music performance teams, including Manyo Company, which uses satire and humor in their work.
The concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Tickets cost 5,000 won.
Anguk Station, line No. 3, exit 3
(02) 747-3809, www.indiegugak.com
HWANGJINEE
The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, Yeakdang
Sept. 7 to 16: This musical premiered in 2009 and with a series of performances since then. Various forms of Korean traditional music, including minyo and jeongga - which mostly developed around the Seoul Metropolitan and Gyeonggi area - will be recreated, along with the religious and royal culture of Korea.
The performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, at 4 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and at 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets range from 10,000 won to 30,000 won.
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5
(02) 580-3300, www.gugak.go.kr
FESTIVALS
SEOUL FRINGE FESTIVAL
Near Hongik University
To Saturday: The Seoul Fringe Festival is a showcase for independent artists working in theater, dance, music and performance art.
Performances will take place in various venues near Hongik University in western Seoul, including small theaters, live clubs, galleries, on the street and around the subway station.
(02) 325-8150, www.seoulfringefestival.net
WORLD LEISURE GAMES
Songam Sports Town, Chuncheon
Saturday to Sept. 5: The games, inaugurated by the Korean city of Chuncheon, feature 15 international and local leisure events with 15,000 athletes from 52 countries.
The event features nine international competitions, including the IWWF Water Ski World Cup, IWWF Wakeboard World Cup, WSSA World Inline Cup, IFSC Sports Climbing World Cup and the World Leisure Cup Billiards Challenge.
World-class athletes are expected to participate in the event, the organizers said.
Local Korean athletes will compete in five events, including inline skating, sport fishing and paragliding.
The event also includes a B-boy championship that is expected to draw hundreds of young hip-hop artists and breakdancers to the city. There are also water ski shows, inline slalom shows and paragliding and aerobatic demonstrations, organizers said.
From Seoul, take the KTX from Yongsan Station to Chuncheon.
(032) 743-1311~2, www.worldleisure2010.org/intro.asp
WORLD FESTIVAL OF NATIONAL
THEATERS
National Theater of Korea
Sept. 1 to Oct. 30: The fourth edition of this annual festival presents 34 pieces of contemporary theater, dance and music from various countries, including “Krapp’s Last Tape” written by Samuel Beckett and starring avant-garde director and playwright Robert Wilson, who will both direct and act in the one-man show. Other performances include a modern version of “Othello” by the Comedy Theater of Budapest (Vigszinhaz Comedy), the Slovakian “Tango” by director Rastislav Ballek, and “Boshobari,” “Kawakami” and “Kusbira” - a Japanese traditional comedy trilogy in the kyogen tradition. Also at the event will be “Grand Egypt and Aida” by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, “Giant in the Sun” by a Nigerian company and more.
Performance times and ticket prices vary.
Dongguk University Station, line No. 3, exit 2
(02) 2280-4114, www.ntok.go.kr
8th GWANGJU BIENNALE
Gwangju Biennale Hall, Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju Folk Museum
Sept. 3 to Nov. 7: The biannual contemporary art show in the southwestern metropolitan city features photographic, installation and media art works by about 120 artists from 31 countries. This year’s theme is “10,000 Lives,” or “Maninbo” in Korean, and is inspired by and named after the epic poem by renowned poet Ko Un. The show focuses on the relationship between humans and images.
Tickets range from 2,000 won for children to 14,000 won for adults.
From Seoul, take a flight to Gwangju Airport or take a KTX train to Gwangju Station.
(062) 608-4114, www.gb.or.kr
MEDIA CITY SEOUL
Seoul Museum of Art
Sept. 7 to Nov. 17: This showcase is focused on new media art. The 45 participating groups of artists from 21 countries include famous names like the British-American artist Sarah Morris and the Thai film director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival. Among the Korean artists involved are Cho Duck-hyun, Lim Min-ouk and Noh Sun-tag. This year’s theme is “Trust.” The artworks in the show will tell or ask what trust is, as the expansion of media brings about a distortion of information and the blurring of messages, organizers say.
Admission is free.
City Hall Station, line No. 1 or 2, exit 1
(02) 2124-8947, www.mediacityseoul.org
*Event information is culled from the Korea Tourism Organization and other online sources.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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