LONDON’SFEST IVAL OF

KOREAN MUSIC

NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF KOREAUHUHBOO PROJECT + PERE UBU

GEOMUNGO FACTORYKIHA & THE FACES + YI SUNG YOLPANSORI NIGHT – AHN SOOK-SUN

For full details of all shows visit serious.org.uk/K-Music

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Gangnam Style! It was the surprise hit of last year. But what else do weknow of Korea’s musical scene? This is your chance to find out.

K-Music 2013 includes orchestral music, traditional pansori, indie groups and one of thecountry’s must-see bands – Geomungo Factory. Most of us have come into contact withSouth Korea’s Asian Tiger economy – hearing the music beyond K-Pop isn’t so easy, but it isrich and distinctive with a proud past and dynamic future, like the country itself where thetraditional and modern are continually juxtaposed.

A geographical bridge between China and Japan, Korea has worked hard to preserve its identity. Perhaps that’s why it keeps and respects its traditional heritage while forgingforward. Traditional Korean instruments are very different to most western ones and there’san exciting variety of percussion which adds zest and fire to both traditional and modernsounds. Like Korean food, one of the world’s great cuisines, which is also becoming popularin this country, the music is full of tasty and piquant flavours.

K-Music 2013 features some of the best traditional styles – pansori and sanjo – with therenowned singer Ahn Sook-Sun, the National Orchestra of Korea, rock bands at the Scala –Kiha & The Faces, Uhuhboo Project and Yi Sung Yol – and the group to watch, GeomungoFactory, who typify what Korea today has to offer, bringing together the ancient and modern.

NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF KOREABARBICAN, FRIDAY 14 JUNE

UHUHBOO PROJECT + PERE UBU SCALA, SUNDAY 16 JUNE

GEOMUNGO FACTORY CADOGAN HALL, WEDNESDAY 19 JUNE

KIHA & THE FACES + YI SUNG YOL SCALA, THURSDAY 20 JUNE

PANSORI NIGHTCADOGAN HALL, FRIDAY 21 JUNE

Tickets for all shows can be booked on the Barbican, Cadogan Hall and Scala websites.

Full information on all K-Music shows can be seen atserious.org.uk/K-Music

K-MUSIC 2013

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NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF KOREABARBICAN Friday 14 June 8pm

National Orchestra of Korea have toured all over the world but this Londonconcert, which opens K-Music 2013, is their first-ever performance in Britain.They are a special voice in Korean culture, drawing on ancient instrumentsand the shamanistic traditions of Korea, while encouraging innovation.

You just have to see the 60-strong National Orchestra of Korea laid out on stage tounderstand what the idea is – to create something like a Western orchestra from traditionalKorean instruments. It is an intriguing hybrid of Western and Korean traditions whichshowcases the artistry of Korean instrumentalists.

The layout of the orchestra mirrors that of a symphony orchestra, with the string section ofviolins, violas and cellos replaced by haegeum fiddles and the various Korean zithers –plucked gayageum, struck geomungo and bowed ajaeng. In place of flutes and oboes are

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE DEPARTED AND THE LIVING WHO REMAIN...“ ”

the daegum (bamboo flute), piri (bamboo oboe) and fruity taepyeongso (shawm). Behindthem is a spectacular percussion section, including a big dragon drum with its distinctivered, yellow and blue swirls. The only Western instruments are a few cellos and doublebasses filling out the bottom end.

The group’s new musical director and conductor is Won Il, one of Korea’s most excitingcomposers, with a strong sense of theatre – he played in an early version of UhuhbooProject, who can be seen at the Scala during K-Music 2013. British audiences have seenhim working here with the percussion group Baramgot, and his music is featured in thelatest Robert Lepage production Playing Cards. He sees this concert as having a spiritualdimension, marking the imminent 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, andreflecting on shamanism, which is still a vital force in Korea, as a “dialogue between thedeparted and the living who remain”.

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What makes Korea so special is the way it respects its distinctive past,while staying at the cutting edge of technology and innovation – and ifthere’s one group that sums that up in music, it’s Geomungo Factory (whichis pronounced Co-mungo Factory).

The geomungo zither is over a thousand years old and you won’t find an instrument like itanywhere else in the world. It has six silk strings and is played by hitting and plucking themwith a short stick, giving it a deep, muscular sound, both rhythmic and melodic. GeomungoFactory have also created new instruments – the ‘xylophone geomungo’, the ‘cellogeomungo’ and the ‘electric geomungo’ with a wah-wah pedal. Like Konono No. 1 fromCongo and Hanggai from Mongolia, Geomungo Factory sound ancient and contemporaryat the same time.

Geomungo Factory includes three geomungo players, Yoo Mi-Young, Jung Ein-Ryoung andLee Jung-Seok, who are all traditional players, plus Kim Sun-a, who plays gayageum, theplucked zither with 18 or more strings, which is more commonly heard in Korea than thegeomungo. “Most people think traditional music is boring,” they say, “so we want to makegeomungo music that we can share with people and is fun.”

Last year, they performed in Europe for the first time with a sensational showcase atWomex, the world music expo, and this is their very first British concert. Most of GeomungoFactory’s music is self-composed – and while you can make comparisons with Steve Reich,jazz improvisation, folk and ambient, and parallels with groups like Portico Quartet, it allsounds totally original. Their piece Movement on Silence builds up from sonorous bell-lifesounds to life affirming rhythms, while Groundless Fear takes you into scary regions of thesubconscious. Their music is full of delicate plucked strings and visceral bowing, throbbingbeats and imaginative textures. For this concert, the first half will be based on traditionalrepertoire – “you can’t make innovations if you don’t know the tradition,” says Lee – andthe second half is built around their new compositions.

Geomungo’s album Metamorphosis got a five-star Top of the World recommendation inSonglines magazine – “The music of Geomungo Factory sounds very contemporary andvery ancient at the same time. A deep, muscular sound, both percussive and melodic, is atthe heart of their musical world”.

YOU CAN’T MAKE INNOVATIONS IFYOU DON’T KNOW THE TRADITION...“ ”GEOMUNGO FACTORY

CADOGAN HALL Wednesday 19 June 7.30pm

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Pansori is often described as traditional Korean opera, but it’s moreinteresting than that. Unlike Italian opera, which was an aristocratic formsubsequently embraced by the people, pansori is a folk form that got takenup by the aristocracy.

Whereas most operas have tragic endings, the pansori stories, like most folk tales, arehappy – although there’s often plenty of grief along the way. Seeing pansori with a Koreanaudience in an intimate space is like witnessing flamenco in an Andalucían peña – it isvivid and fun, with the spectators gasping and yelling cries of approbation, just as theSpanish shout ‘olé’.

Pansori is a uniquely Korean art form of which they are extremely proud. In 1964 pansori wasdesignated Intangible Cultural Property No 5 and itwas put on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritagelist in 2003. It is traditionally performed by a singer(gwangdae) and a drummer (gosu). Completeperformances can last hours, although in practice the highlights of the stories are presented in a mixedsetting, as in this performance. There are just fivesurviving pansori stories, each with their owncharacter. Heungbo-ga, which will be performed atCadogan Hall, is largely comic in character, and willbe surtitled live for English audiences. This concertalso includes instrumental sanjo pieces for soloinstrument and percussion.

For this performance, we have Korea’s mostcelebrated pansori star, Ahn Sook-Sun, who is wellaccustomed to taking pansori to an internationalaudience – she has performed all over the world,and was featured both at Womad and theEdinburgh International Festival a few years ago.“Pansori is more like a conversation than a song,”she says. “I can create an empathy with theaudience; they can feel the breathing and sense the emotion through the tone of voice”. She has the rare designation of ‘Living Intangible Treasure’

in Gayageum Byeongchang (Intangible Cultural Property No 23) – the art of singing pansoriand playing the gayageum at the same time. “To be a living national treasure has a veryimportant meaning,” she says. “I’m a link between the old and the new and I am proud of being a cultural keeper who can show the younger generation what the previous onewas like…”

PANSORI IS MORE LIKE A CONVERSATION THAN A SONG...“ ”PANSORI NIGHT – Ahn Sook-Sun

CADOGAN HALL Friday 21 June 7.30pm

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There are two concerts at the Scala in King’s Cross by exciting Korean bands, well-known inSeoul, but largely new to European ears.

Uhuhboo Project were one of choreographer Pina Bausch’s favourite bands, and Koreanfilm director Park Chan-Wook raved about the group, who’ve retained an undergroundreputation in Korea. For their Scala show on Sunday 16 June, they’ve invited David Thomasand his legendary band Pere Ubu to share the stage with them, making a really sensationaldouble bill. Pere Ubu are onstage at 7.45, followed by Uhuhboo Project at 9pm.

Thursday June 20 at the Scala sees a combination of two bands who are sure to pull out everyKorean rock fan in London. The night features Yi Sung Yol, a terrific singer-songwriter who’sfeatured in a string of Korean films, and Kiha & The Faces, a hugely popular band led by singerand composer Chang Kiha, who turns Korean into a natural language for off-centre rock lyrics.

FREE EVENTS AT THE KOREAN CULTURAL CENTRE UKRISING STARS OF K-CLASSICS lunchtime concert series at 1pmMonday 17 to Friday 21 June A series of short free concerts showcasing young Korean musicians from the Royal College of Music.Please join us to hear and meet these talented young Korean rising stars.

GEOMUNGO FACTORY WORKSHOP – meet the musiciansTuesday 18 June Ahead of their London debut, Geomungo Factory will lead a workshop introducing their uniqueinstruments and compositions. This rare opportunity will provide audiences with the chance to meet theperformers and discuss their works and influences.

For further information and to reserve seats for these concerts and the workshop, please contact theKCCUK on info@kccuk.org.uk or call 020 7004 2600

K-Music 2013 has been programmed and produced by Serious in partnership withthe Korean Cultural Centre UK.

THE KOREAN CULTURAL CENTRE UK Grand Buildings, 1-3 Strand London WC2N 5BWOpened by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2008, the role of the KCCUK is toenhance friendship, amity and understanding between Korea and the UK through cultural andeducational activities.

From the KCCUK’s beautiful location near Trafalgar Square, a dedicated team work to further developestablished cultural projects and explore new opportunities to expand our Korean events programme inthe UK. We hold regular events including exhibitions, language classes and film screenings and our on-site facilities include a gallery, small theatre, lecture room and library.

KCCUK runs the ‘K-Pop Academy’, a 12-week course that enables K-Pop fans in the UK to discovermore about the culture of Korea. This course aims to give K-pop fans an understanding of Korea’shistory, culture, language and food.

The KCCUK also holds bi-weekly film nights in our multi-purpose hall. From contemporary independentfilms to international blockbusters, Korean classics and directors’ retrospectives, we aim to show a widevariety of films and genres that showcase the diversity and excitement of Korean cinema. 2013 is the‘Year of the 4 Actors’, we will be showcasing the talents of four Korean superstar actors; Moon So-ri,Jeon Do-yeon, Choi Min-sik and Ha Jung-woo.

For each showcase there will be a series of free film screenings and a live Q&A with the actor held atthe BAFTA cinema.

Find out more about us at kccuk.org.uk – and we look forward to seeing you at our Centre in thenear future.

SERIOUSSerious are a music producer with a special combination: creative and dynamic yet organised andtotally reliable – artistic entrepreneurs who also handle marketing, production and every logisticaldetail, delivering a range of high quality projects with style.

The events we produce range from major concerts, festivals and national and international tours throughto learning and participatory programmes, conferences and specially commissioned bespoke events.

Find out more about us and our shows at serious.org.uk, where you can join our e-list for advanceinformation on all our concerts.

UHUHBOO PROJECT + PERE UBUSunday 16 June doors open 7pm

ROCK THE SCALA!

YI SUNG YOL + KIHA & THE FACESThursday 20 June doors open 7pm

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