Kim Seung-ah will perform in Seoul to celebrate the ninth anniversary of her debut as an artist storyteller on April 2.
Kim performs Korean stories and gives workshops to international audiences about Korean culture and storytelling art, such as “pansori,” a form of lyrical singing.
Kim Seung-ah
In concert, titled “The Day Will Come Again,” Kim will perform alongside Korean artists, including master pansori singer Bae Il-dong, Silk Road Ensemble drummer Kim Dong-won, and traditional bamboo flutist Han Chung-eun, to present traditional stories from three different cultures.
The stories she will perform are “The Blue Faience Hippopotamus,” about an Egyptian princess and a hippopotamus who falls in love with her, “Chunhyang-ga,” one of Korea’s most famous pansori love stories, and “Persephone and Demeter” from Greek and Roman mythology, with music specially written by Greek composer Fotini Tsaknaki.
Since debuting in Toronto in 2007, Kim has been invited to storytelling festivals and events in countries including Greece, Singapore and Italy.
“So far, compared to Chinese and Japanese cultures, Korean traditional culture is not so well known to the world” Kim said.
“We believe in the intrinsic value of Korean traditional culture and know the world will soon appreciate it -- ‘The Day Will Come’! This is why we will introduce various Korean art genres at my concert.
“From now on, the role of storytelling will be more powerful.”
The concert will be held from 3-5 p.m. at Changseondang in JW Marriott Dongdaemun Seoul Square. Tickets are 50,000 won or 25,000 won for students. An early bird discount of 40 percent is given to those who book before March 25. For more details and reservations visit www.arirangstorytelling.com
By Paul Kerry (
paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)
Traditional Korean flutist Han Chung-eun (Sea-gull)