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'Spotlight Korea 2024' fills Berlin with fusion traditional Korean music

Published: 17 May. 2024, 14:07

KIM JI-YE
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Folk band OBSG4BS performs at the Tempodrom Kleine Arena in Berlin on Thursday as part of the “Spotlight Korea 2024” event. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

Gugak, or traditional Korean music, filled the air in Germany on Thursday with performances by singer Lee Hee-moon in the Korean folk band OBSG4BS, the Culture Ministry said.

The Korean Cultural Center in Germany hosted the event that showcased a fusion gugak performance featuring OBSG4BS at the Tempodrom Kleine Arena in Berlin as part of the “Spotlight Korea 2024.”

“Spotlight Korea” is a year-round event held by the Korean Cultural Center in Germany to introduce Korean culture to the locals. This is its 30th year since opening.

Lee is renowned for presenting new forms of Korean folk songs, blending traditional Korean songs with Western music such as disco, reggae and jazz.

OBSG4BS is a “psychedelic neo-folk song band” with members that specialize in different genres, including Lee and reggae and rock-based bassist Noh Seon-Teck.

Folk band OBSG4BS performs at the Tempodrom Kleine Arena in Berlin on Thursday as part of the “Spotlight Korea 2024” event. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

The performance garnered major attention from locals with its short-form social media videos garnering over 40,000 views in just a few days and the 300-seat venue selling out within two days, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday.

The German audience, perhaps most accustomed to Korean music in the form of K-pop, found the melodies and singing style of Korean folk songs to be refreshing, as it was their first time hearing this genre of music, according to the Culture Ministry.

Audience members also mentioned discovering a new charm in Korean music through the performance, which showcased a blend of rock, reggae and disco with Korean traditional music, the ministry added.

Folk band OBSG4BS performs at the Tempodrom Kleine Arena in Berlin on Thursday as part of the “Spotlight Korea 2024” event. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

“Korean pop music, including K-pop, has recently become very popular in Germany, and we hope that that the audience can fully enjoy the charm of Korean traditional music, which can be said to be the root of K-Pop, through this performance,” the Ambassador of Korea to Germany Lim Sang-beom said in a greeting.

The Korean Cultural Center in Germany plans to showcase a variety of performance programs encompassing different genres and themes to introduce Korea's charms to Germany as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]