I made the
performance ‘Nanta’ in October 1997, so this year marks the 25th anniversary.
At that time, Koreans did not understand why they had to enjoy cultural life or
spend money to consume culture, even though they could afford it. So, every
time I produced a performance, I was often not making profit.
Being an actor is a
very attractive job, but it is a passive job in a way because I cannot
demonstrate my abilities until I am cast. So I decided to create and stage my
own show rather than waiting to be cast as an actor. I thought about how to
make money with my own performances, and decided to enter the overseas market
where there are many people watching by paying money and buying tickets.
However, I
encounterd a language barrier. A play is an act of conveying emotion to the
audience through dialogue, but who would understand if the performance was
conducted in Korean? That's why I made a play without language, and from then
on, nonverbal performances started to become popular all over the world. I also
had financial difficulties. When I previously produced the musical “Whale
Hunt,” it cost 500 million won, the highest production cost in Korea, but the
Broadway production cost far exceeded 10 billion won at the same time Of
course, Korean plays were not competitive. So, I tried to overcome the
limitations of capital with ‘Samulnori’, which has the most Korean and Oriental
uniqueness. A play is to put a part of our lives on a stage, and in everyday
life, like Samulnori, the kitchen is the place to beat something. I set the
background for a play called ‘Nanta’ in the kitchen, inspired by my mother
knocking on a chopping board with a knife in the kitchen when I was young. And
I wrote a scenario with the chefs making food in the kitchen and used kitchen
utensils as samulnori tools.
Of course, it
wasn't easy to enter the overseas market, but perhaps thanks to Samulnol's
unique and exciting rhythm, we received a standing ovation for five minutes
after our first performance in Edinburgh, England. In 2000, the first permanent
performance hall in Korea, ‘Nanta Theater’ was opened. I had no choice but to
close the door for 2 and a half years because of COVID-19, but I plan to resume
the performance from July. Thanks to this success, Nanta is now performing in
350 cities in 60 countries.
Now I’d like
to talk about the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. At the opening and closing
ceremonies of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, I tried to sublimate the values
of passion and peace into art based on ‘harmony’, a value of traditional Korean
culture, and ‘convergence’, a characteristic of contemporary Korean culture and
art. 'Passion' is the driving force behind the Miracle on the Han River, and we
have a greater desire for 'Peace' than any other country as the only
divided nation in the world.
I expressed
the value of harmony with a performance using Taegeuk, which contains the
harmony of yin and yang as well as the harmony of all things. I also expressed
the value of passion with a Janggu dance characterized by a fast and cheerful
rhythm. During the 45-day on-site rehearsal, there were many difficulties such
as bad weather, but thanks to 6,000 volunteers, the performance was completed with
success. I think Koreans know how to work together to do something greater than
usual when a crisis hits.
The Olympics
are broadcast live on TV, so viewers around the world are watching. I still
remember the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics that I watched in
elementary school. So, as a director, I thought a lot about how to create a
‘wow point’. A wow point is a highlight scene that makes viewers exclaim. For
example, 30 years after the hosting of the 1988 Olympics, we can only remember
‘Hoop Boy’. This is the wow point. The scene that attracted the most attention
at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics was the drone show.
1218 drones changed their appearance to the Olympic rings, and this splendid
show was highly praised by the New York Times. There were also many good
reviews about lighting the torch. A steep uphill road embodying a slope turned
into stairs, and then figure skater Yuna Kim appeared in the dark and gave a
short performance. This is thanks to a small ice stage set up under the torch.
When I saw
the Red Devils cheering for Korea on the street during the 2002 World Cup, I
thought it awakened the excitement and passion for entertainment of Koreans. BTS
topped the Billboard charts for 7 weeks, actress Yoon Yeo-jeong won the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Squid Game topped Netflix - all these
feats happened in just four years after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. And
recently, Park Chan-wook won the Best Director Award and Song Kang-ho won the
Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Koreans have a lot of excitement
and passion, but I think they have been suppressed so far. I absolutely
disagree with the opinion that Hallyu culture will not last long. K-content
will continue to develop, and K-pop and K-drama will lead the world's popular
culture. I hope you will be interested in culture in the future, and please be
sure to pay tickets for the performance!
