Celebration Events During Chuseok Holiday in 2008

Chuseok is one of Korea’s most largely celebrated holidays. It is a time when families and friends gather to share food and enjoy their time together, giving thanks to their ancestors for the year’s bountiful harvests. Chuseok this year falls on September 14th of the solar calendar, so the holidays will last from September 13th to September 15th.During Chuseok, a variety of traditional holiday events will be held at cultural hotspots throughout Seoul. Traditional cultural events will be held at Seoul’s major palaces including Gyeongbokgung Palace and also at The Korea Folk Village. The National Folk Museum of Korea also plans to open a variety of Chuseok related events. You can participate in some hands-on programs at Namsangol Hanok Village as well. In addition, Lotte World, Everland, and Seoul Land will be holding a traditional Korean dance performance and folk games.

KOREA HOUSE Folk Performance

Period
01.01.2008 ~ 12.31.2008
Address
Seoul, Jung-gu, Pil-dong 2-ga, 80-2
Performance Times
Monday to Saturday 7:00 PM, 8:50 PM / Sunday 8:00 PM
Telephone
- Korea Travel Phone +82-2-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese) - For more info +82-2-2266-9101~3 (Korean, English, Japanese)
Admission/Participation Fees
35,000 won
Duration of Performance
Monday to Saturday 7:00, 8:50 / Sunday 8:00 PM
Introduction
The Korea House folk performance team, established by the Foundation for the Preservation of Cultural Properties (FPCP) who helps preserve and promote Korean traditional cultural arts, presents a spectular Korean performing arts showcase throughout the year for both natives and foreign visitors. Inside the Korea House is a folk performance hall, which holds 156 seats, where human cultural properties, performers from the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, and dancers from the National Dance Company in Korea perform Korean traditional music and dance every afternoon. In particular, programs like “Sinawi”, “Buchaechum (a traditional fan dance)”, “Salpuri (a traditional shamanism dance)”, “Pansori (a traditional narrative song)”, “Bukchum (a traditional drum dance)”, “Bongsantalchum (a traditional Bonsan masked dance)”, “Seungmu (a Buddhist solo dance in white clothing)”, and “Barachum (a Buddhist ritual dance)” are famously enjoyed by foreign visitors. Event Programs: The regular folk performance held at the Korea House where various Korean cultural experiences including food and performances can be enjoyed presents eight diverse performances for about an hour.Various folk performances including “Gainjeonmokdan” - a royal court dance designed by Prince Hyomyeong in the age of the 23rd King, Sunjo, of the Joseon Dynasty, “Bongsantalchum (an Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 17)” - a traditional masked dance with a blend of dance and wit along with singing, “Pansori” - a Korean traditional narrative vocal performance passed down from the Joseon Dynasty, “Buchaechum” with gorgeous dancing and dazzling costumes, “Jangguchum” making the body feel the exciting rhythm of the percussion instrument, “Sinawi” - an ensemble of eight traditional music instruments, Geomungo (a Korean zitherlike instrument with six strings), Gayageum (twelve-stringed Korean harp), Jing (a Korean gong), Ajaeng (a seven-stringed court musical instrument), Haegeum (a Korean fiddle), Piri (a Korean flute), Daegeum (a Korean large transverse bamboo flute), and Janggu (a Korean double-headed drum), and “Samullori” – a traditional percussion quartet making performers and audiences join in together - are presented differently according to their seasonal programs.“Mansumu” for wishing the King's longevity and a percussional music performance are currently included and presented.

Korean Traditional Stage "MISO" at Chongdong Theater

Period
01.01.2008 ~ 12.31.2008
Location
Chongdong Theater
Telephone
Contact) +82-2-751-1500 (English, Japanese)
Admission/Participation Fees
seat R 40,000 won / seat S 30,000 won seat A 20,000 won/ Student 10,000 won
Duration of Performance
70 mins
Sponsors / Management
Chongdong Theater /
Introduction
A collection of traditional Korean fine arts performances will be presented at Chongdong Theater during the event of "MISO". The Chongdong Theater’s "Korean Traditional Stage" has been regularly featured as a signature performance venue since 1997 for both Korean audiences and international tourists alike. As the famous stage made exclusively for traditional Korean arts performances, the event will feature the traditional rhythms of samulnori (traditional Korean percussion quartet), Korea’s beautiful buchaechum (traditional fan dance), and pansori (traditional Korean narrative song) in order to bring the true essence of Korea’s fine arts to audiences. During the performances, subtitled descriptions will be displayed on a screen in English, Japanese, and Chinese for each theme. The Chongdong Theater changes its traditional arts stage annually. In January of this year, the theater upgraded its venue to the traditional arts performance of Miso. Miso is scheduled to run until December of this year, showcasing the musical fusion of song and dance set against a woman’s love story that results in a happy ending. The performance highlights seven different performing arts themes including samulnori, a gayageum (twelve-stringed Korean harp) performance, and buchaechum. Even during the performance, audience members can go up on the stage with the performers to participate in Beona (a stunt where a large circular disc or plate spun with a stick or tobacco pipe), and after the performance, guests can spend some time with the performers at Chongdong Theater’s outdoor yard.
How to Particpate
MISO will be performed regularly at 8:00pm from April to September and at 4:00pm from October to March at the Chongdong Theater, excluding Mondays. For added entertainment, a Janggu (double-headed Korean drums) School has been prepared to entertain guests up to an hour before the show is scheduled to begin, together with a traditional Korean costume-wearing program.