With Unesco opening ceremony, director Won Il wanted a 'pure dish' to serve up heritage

Won Il, the director behind the opening ceremony at the 48th session of Unesco's World Heritage Committee on Sunday, said his vision was to create a stage that resembles "a pure white porcelain dish" that could complement any kind of cuisine — whether Korea's traditional banchan (side dish) or even steak.

"We needed a stage that could go with any types of performances because we didn't have much time to change the stage design or move certain props," said Won in a recent roundtable interview in Busan. 

"The hall is not designed for performances but is optimized for conferences, and the duration of the show was also short, so we needed a stage that would look okay with any kind of performance."

The performance, titled "Under the Sacred Roof: Echoes of Continuity and Peace," was performed in front of a delegation of some 1,000 audience members from around the world, with President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye Kyung in attendance.

"Since the committee's emblem takes its motif from the roof of Jongmyo Shrine, I wanted the overall stage concept to reflect that symbol as well — a roof that embraces humanity in all its conflicts while uniting us under the shared goal of protecting our heritage," he said, referring to the inspiration of the gathering's logo, a royal shrine in downtown Seoul. 

The performance had five parts, with the first one re-enacting the eomgo, a ceremonial drum ritual performed at the start of the Gyeongbokgung Palace Royal Guard Changing Ceremony at Gwanghwamun. 

"Since this committee was being held in Korea for the first time, I wanted to bring Gwanghwamun on stage to invite them in. Once the door is opened, I wanted to express a Korea that is very welcoming and has leadership. The concept of 'gate' was kind of crucial."

The remaining four parts took on the titles of "The Gate of K," "The Gate of Peace," "The Gate of Reflection" and "The Gate of Harmony."

"The Gate of K" brought forth a single dancer expressing the beauty and respect toward Korea's heritage. In the background, the 17 Unesco-listed Korean heritage entries were visualized through media art. 

"That part was the most time-consuming part while preparing the stage because we needed to research historical records of those 17 heritage sites so that they wouldn't appear with wrong details," he said. "We put extra work into it because we are showing it to the global audience."

G-Dragon, a K-pop superstar who was appointed as the ambassador of the committee, took the stage midway to make a speech about protecting heritage. 

"I was personally moved by his sincerity and the values behind his foundation, the Juspeace Foundation, which seeks to contribute to the protection of cultural heritage and the promotion of peace," Won said.

"I also heard that G-Dragon said he did not want to perform a song because the event was about heritage, not about him. I think his intention was simply to humbly convey the mission of the Juspeace Foundation and his desire to contribute to society and world peace."

Won, a certified apprentice of piri jeongak (court music performed by traditional Korean double-reed instrument) and daechwita (Korean traditional military music), is known for putting an experimental modern spin on Korean traditional tunes.

His personal work "Dionysus Robot," for example, infuses Korea's traditional tunes with electronic sounds to re-enact gut (Korea's shamanic ritual) on stage. 

For the opening ceremony, however, he chose not to.

"I tried to stay true to tradition as much as possible because we are performing for a global audience who don't know much about Korea's tradition," he said. "In that case, it was important to deliver all the symbolism correctly."

Won will also direct the committee's closing ceremony on July 29.

For that occasion, he allowed his imagination to roam a little more freely.

"It will be like an afterparty where people can see more casually," he said.

"By that time, participants will be a bit tired, so the closing performance will be like an energy drink. There will be fusion musicians, a DJ and more."

BY JIN EUN-SOO [[email protected]]