The Essence of Korean Art

Chae Hyang Soon, a dance troupe from South Korea, claims to “present the essence of Korean art.” This essence goes undefined, but it seems that their entire show is devoted to the task, leaving the audience with an understanding of this essence through their recent performance, Dynamic Korea: Dance and Song. Sponsored by the Alabama Asian Cultures Foundation, the program exemplifying Korean art far exceeded expectations with an astounding plethora of cultural insights for the Virginia Samford Theatre audience.

The attempt is Herculean. Utilizing several musical instruments, costumes and songs, Chae Hyang Soon explores a wide spectrum of traditional Korean art and art culture with two hours of dance, music and song. The performers even synthesize traditional dances to popmusic showing the audience a slice of contemporary art splashed against dances hundreds of years old. In their“Taffy Peddler” dance, after giving the audience 17th century Korean candy produced in a 21st century factory, they used children’s scissors as musical instruments. Perhaps they were humble in claiming to present the essence of Korean art - maybe they wanted to show the essence of Korea itself.

 
In “The Monk Dance”, the dancer’s ghostly sleeves extend a few feet passed her hands concealing mallets with which to hammer on a giant drum in the background. The performance is hauntingly memorable as she floats across the stage, the sleeves punctuating her movements.

Through Chae Hyang Soon we experience Korea historically, socially and religiously. Of the 12 compositions, three relate directly with the ruling class. Both “Koryo Court Dance” and “Choson Court Dance” take their names from dynasties in Korean history while “The Love Song” from Song of Ch’unhyang offers “a window into Choson Dynasty feudal society.” The description of these dances communicates a purpose for the art primarily as celebration of leadership and as a prayer for the health of the rulers. The hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing, shows us the eloquence and artistry of Korean designers. Insightful among social themes, Dynamic Korea suggests that women are the preservers and communicators of artistic tradition. It can be inferred from the hanbok, music and choice of dances, that many arrangements are specifically intended to be performed by women. And though many of the songs utilize giant drums with booming bass typically associated with masculinity and war, there is only one male in the group. In a few instances, women donned male hanbok further illustrating artistic equality among the genders.

One of the most famous Korean pansori (similar to opera) is the story of Ch’unhyang. The legend follows a young woman who falls in love with and marries a young man studying to become a judge. While her husband is away, a corrupt local magistrate becomes attracted to Ch’unhyang and orders her to become his concubine. The local magistrate reasons that since her mother was a concubine Ch’unhyang cannot escape that destiny. Angered by her persistent refusal the magistrate orders her death. But just before her execution, the husband, now a representative of the king, returns to remove the magistrate from power and rescue Ch’unhyang.

The story of Ch’unhyang is incredibly significant for Korean culture possibly comparable to the pervasiveness of Romeo and Juliet. Significantly, it is feminine-centric. The protagonist is a woman describing her love and devotion for a studious man who chooses to face death rather than break her commitment. Accompanied by a male drummer lazily keeping beat as he pounds the drum, a singer often takes the voice of Ch’unhyang or other characters, while at times serves as a narrator, a female third party singing about the strong-willed Ch’unhyang.

Korean religion, mainly Buddhism and local Shamanism (Confucianism was ever present, but served more as legal code), appear in nearly every dance from the meditative Buddhist prostrations in “The Lotus Dance”, to a Shamanistic prayer to “ward off evil spirits and renew the collective energy of the community” found in “Drum and Hat Dance”. “The Lotus Dance” functions as a metaphor for the Buddhist lesson on purity of body and spirit, “expressing the beauty and essence of the Buddhist aesthetic.” We see art functioning practically as teacher, leader, worshipper and appeaser. Watching Dynamic Korea was more than an aesthetic experience, it was a spiritual one as well.

Chae Hyang Soon captures the essence of a flower with “The Fan Dance”. With each snap of the fans opening and closing, the audience imagines wind massaging the flowers on a spring afternoon.

Attending future performances may be the only method to judge Chae Hyang Soon’s success. But having performed for the South Korean presidential inauguration and audiences around the world, their expertise and authenticity confirms their reputation. As if to emphasize the uniqueness of their performance they exposed their audience to a fully blossoming world of Korean art, but are only performing at five American venues for this tour.

The Alabama Asian Cultures Foundation is working on funding for a location capable of supporting events like this and providing greater opportunities to engage the entire state in cross-cultural communication. Chae Hyang Soon challenges us to expand our cultural, artistic and aesthetic understanding in enlightening and illuminating ways. Keep your eyes open for chances to learn about other cultures; keep your ears perked for how the Alabama Asian Cultures Foundation will enchant audiences with new and wonderful events

Originally appeared in the November issue of Arts in Alabama available here.