Traditional yet modern Korean dance video records 2.3 million views on YouTube

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Traditional yet modern Korean dance video records 2.3 million views on YouTube

Published: 19 Jul. 2023, 17:21 Updated: 19 Jul. 2023, 19:33

A still shot from the “One Dance, One Spirit/ Seoul to New York″ video [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A choreography video that put a new spin on the traditional Korean dance "Ilmu," made in collaboration by SK On and dance crew JustJerk, was viewed over 2.3 million times on YouTube as of Wednesday.

Titled “One Dance, One Spirit/ Seoul to New York,” the one-minute, 30-second video that was posted earlier this month shows JustJerk and the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater reinterpreting "Ilmu," a dance which used to be performed during Jongmyo Jeryeak ancestral rites.

Korea recognizes "Ilmu" as one of its intangible cultural assets, and Jongmyo Jeryeak is a Unesco intangible cultural heritage.

"Ilmu," which can be translated to “One Dance,” is described by SK On in the video as “a wonderful blend of traditional and contemporary dance that reflects the times we live in.”

JustJerk is the first Korean dance crew to have won the international Body Rock Dance Competition in 2016, and performed solo in the opening ceremony for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. It gained still more recognition by winning the hit television dance-off show “Street Man Fighter” (2022) on Mnet.

SK On is also a sponsor for Korean Arts Week, which is being held at Lincoln Center in New York until Saturday, and this video was created to promote the event. Korean Arts Week is part of the annual Summer for the City festival based in the Big Apple.

The Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater is set to perform a contemporary version of the ancestral rite live at the Lincoln Center as part of the event’s programs.

“With this festival, we hope to promote the beauty of Korea on the global stage once more,” SK On said in a press release. “We anticipate that this sponsorship will not only leave a good impression of other SK Group brands but also draw empathy from the international audience in the long run.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]