The Korea Foundation Cultural Center celebrated its 7th anniversary with gallery concerts presented on September 3-4. The concerts featured outstanding musicians performing diverse genres of music including Western classical music, jazz, and traditional Korean music.

Cross-cultural Interaction

Since its opening in September 2005, the KF Cultural Center has successfully carried out its role as a popular venue for cultural diplomacy by providing a wide spectrum of intercultural experiences for Koreans and foreign residents in Korea. In 2011, the KF Cultural Center reopened at a new location along Cheonggye Stream, where it has further increased its activities as a multipurpose cultural space offering a variety of cultural programs from around the world, including live performances, exhibitions, and lecture series.

On the occasion of the anniversary concerts, Korea Foundation President Woosang Kim expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all who have supported the KF Cultural Center along its path to impressive growth. He also emphasized that the center will continue to serve as a global cultural space through even more diverse and substantial programs in the years ahead.

The first day’s concert began with Western classical music under the theme of “Friendship.” Pianist Park Jong-hwa, a professor at Seoul National University, performed with two flutists from the German Embassy in Seoul ― Johannes Regenbrecht, deputy head of mission, and Ulrike Lebender, third secretary for press ― drawing hearty applause from the audience.

The second part of the concert featured jazz musician Sunny Kim (Kim Yun-seon) performing her own creations under the theme, “Jazz Sings the Beauty of Korea.” Kim was named the Best Korean Jazz Vocalist of 2012 by Jazz People, a local magazine. She was also the first Korean jazz musician to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival in the United States.

Kim performed her original works inspired by the poetry and painting of Kim Seon-du, with some of his paintings exhibited to show how they influenced her music. The audience gave her enthusiastic applause for her unique interpretation of a lyrical Korean subject through contemporary jazz.

Efforts toward ‘Cultural Powerhouse’

On the second day, the creative traditional Korean music group, Geomungo Factory, played tango music on the native Korean zithers, geomungo and gayageum, providing the audience with a rare experience. The group is dedicated to introducing the unique spiritual energy of traditional Korean music to audiences around the world, primarily through the geomungo, one of the most popular traditional instruments.

The final segment of the concert presented Yi Ja-ram, a foremost pansori artist of the young generation, who is active as a singer, composer, and music director. Yi performed her signature work, the highly acclaimed “Sacheonga,” a pansori version of the German dramatist Bertold Brecht’s “The Good Person of Sichuan.” She gave a solo presentation of 40-minute highlights from the musical drama, fascinating the audience with her versatile rendition of multiple roles in songs and narratives.

At both concerts the audience was deeply impressed with the versatility of the musicians. They also seemed convinced that the KF Cultural Center will continue to contribute to cross-cultural interaction among peoples around the world as well as promoting the richness of Korean culture and arts in the global community.

Lee Yong-gyu Freelance Writer