September 2023
Global Korea
KCC Hosts Traditional Music Concert by Korean,
Indonesian Students
The Korean Embassy and Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Indonesia jointly hosted a traditional music concert performed by students of both countries.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Seoul and Jakarta, the KCC and the embassy held the Korea-Indonesia Students¡¯ Traditional Music Performance on July 26 in the city of Surakarta, on the central island of Java, and held a second one in Jakarta on July 28.
As part of the ¡°2023 Korean Cultural Festival,¡± these events were performed by students from the College of Music at Korea¡¯s Seoul National University and those of the Department of Ethnomusicology of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Surakarta.
Seoul National University students played the daegeum (bamboo flute), gayageum (12-string zither), gave a solo performance on the ajaeng (a bowed zither with seven strings), and also presented a modern gugak (Korean traditional music) performance. Indonesian students performed traditional Indonesian music from Java and Sulawesi as well as modern music.
Using musical features of both countries, the students performed a modern gugak song ¡°Flowing,¡± composed and interpreted by them, and ¡°Indo Logo,¡± traditional music from Indonesia¡¯s Makassar region.
Staff at the KCC in Indonesia said, ¡°We hope this concert contributed to boosting cultural exchanges and friendship among students from both nations.¡±
Korean Woodcut Artist¡¯s Works
Displayed in South Africa
An exhibition of the works of the nation¡¯s leading woodcut artist Lee Chul Soo has opened in South Africa.
The Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Pretoria, the country¡¯s administrative capital, on Aug. 1 said it opened that day Lee¡¯s solo exhibition ¡°Ink & Wood.¡±
He gained prominence in the 1980s as a woodcut artist through his works under the themes of the rights of students and workers and the pro-democracy movement. Since the 1990s, his art has attracted attention for its deep insight into the routine of daily life and expressing through diverse perspectives the appearance of humans living in colorful nature.
The exhibition showcases 29 of the artist¡¯s leading works that depict his world over the past 40 years including ¡°In the Back,¡± ¡°Shopping¡± and ¡°Starlight Falling on the Donggang River¡± (unofficial translations).
A video screened at the opening ceremony on Aug. 1 explained his philosophy of art and aspects of daily life, the KCC said. Visitors also got the chance to directly print woodcuts on replicas of two of Lee¡¯s works.
In a written message sent to the KCC, the artist said, ¡°This woodcut art exhibition is a valuable effort and suggestion to understand each other,¡± adding, ¡°I believe we can see ourselves having heart-to-heart conversations in front of the works.¡±
The woodcut printing event is available through reservation. The exhibition will run through Nov. 30 and is closed on weekends and national holidays.
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