Traditional performances adapt to the times as fans bring new energy to the scene

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Traditional performances adapt to the times as fans bring new energy to the scene

Published: 19 Aug. 2025, 07:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Dancers from the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater perform a scene from ″Ilmu.″ [SEJONG CENTER]

Sword dances woven into solemn royal ancestral rites, a stripped-down undersea romance in the sorrowful sound of Korea's traditional musical genre of pansori, performed only by a drummer and singer — and a new "Shimcheong" is born.

Traditional performances infused with modern sensibilities are drawing enthusiastic audiences by keeping pace with contemporary tastes while amplifying historical virtues long embedded in Korean traditional arts — space, restraint and humor. The arrival of dedicated fan bases for performers and dancers has also brought new energy to the scene.

The Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre will stage "Ilmu" from Thursday to Sunday at the Sejong Center’s Grand Theater. The piece takes its motif from the ritual dance of the same name performed as part of Jongmyo Jeryeak ancestral rites, designated a National Intangible Cultural Heritage and listed by Unesco as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In its literal translation, "Ilmu" is a dance performed in rows by multiple people.

This production adds dynamism to the stillness of Korean dance. Since its first 2022 premiere, it has entered its fourth season, becoming one of the Sejong Center’s signature shows and earning praise abroad. The 2023 performance at New York’s Lincoln Center sold out.

Although staged in a theater with over 3,000 seats, this year’s tickets are already sold out. The dance company said the production has been enhanced with updated video and lighting design.

Dancers from the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater perform a scene from ″Ilmu.″ [SEJONG CENTER]

Another standout traditional production is the changgeuk (traditional Korean opera) "Shimcheong," presented by the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, which reinterprets the 19th-century pansori “Shimcheong-ga."

While retaining the original form of pansori music, the production removes the framework of the “filial daughter” to present a new "Shimcheong." It performed on Aug. 13 and 14 at the 2025 Jeonju International Sori Festival before moving to the National Theater of Korea’s Haeoreum Grand Theater from Sept. 3 to 6. Some VIP seats are already sold out.

Traditional performances continue to win over audiences.

"Dansim," staged from May 8 to June 28 at the Jeongdong Theater, reinterpreted the classic folktale "Shimcheong," the original inspiration for "Shimcheong-ga." It conveyed a new "Shimcheong" through Korean dance, going beyond the theme of filial piety. The production drew attention for featuring veteran actor Chae Si-ra in her first dance drama role. A special performance will be held in Gyeongju in October during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Dancers perform traditional dance piece ″Dansim″ at the Jeongdong Theater in central Seoul on May 8. [YONHAP]

Other traditional works that filled seats in the first half of the year include "Speed," a new Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre piece of rapid-fire Korean dance, and "Snow, Snow, Snow," pansori singer Lee Jaram’s adaptation of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s short story "Master and Man."

These works share a commitment to bringing a contemporary perspective to traditional art while preserving its unique values and strengths.

“Korean aesthetics have space, journey and restraint,” said Mark Tetto, CEO of TCK Investment and a brand ambassador for "Ilmu." "'Ilmu has all three."

The creators of "Shimcheong" emphasized that the work retains the identity of pansori. Playwright and director Yona Kim, who defined the piece as “pansori theater,” said, “Pansori is a genre well known abroad and universally understood, so there is no need to put ‘Korea’ in front of it.”

Actor Kim Jun-su performs parts of ″Shimcheong″ at the National Theater of Korea in central Seoul on July 30. [YONHAP]

Observers say the emergence of idol-like fandoms in traditional performance is also fueling popularity. "Shimcheong" features actors Kim Jun-su and Yu Taepyungyang, known as “idols of the gugak [traditional Korean music] world.” Dancers such as Ki Moo-gan, Kim Kyu-nyeon and Choi Ho-jong, who gained fans after appearing on last year’s television competition show "Stage Fighter," are also credited with raising the profile of Korean dance.

Dancer Ki will appear in "Mimesis," a Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre production running Nov. 6 to 9 at the Sejong Center’s M Theater. Based on the Western philosophical concept of mimesis, the piece seeks the essence of Korean traditional dance.

“Just as Cho Seong-jin and Yunchan Lim broadened audiences in the classical music field, fandoms are forming in traditional genres such as changgeuk and Korean dance, breaking down preconceptions,” said cultural critic Lim Hee-yoon, an advisory committee member of the National Gugak Center.

“As the audience base grows, the skills of changgeuk actors and Korean dancers, which had gone largely unnoticed, are being recognized, creating a virtuous cycle of rising interest in traditional performance.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HA NAM-HYUN [[email protected]]