Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY), a branch of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea, has launched “Gugak Wednesdays: Online Korean Music Concerts” in partnership with the National Gugak Center to provide audiences the opportunity to stay connected and find a source of comfort through music. Gugak Wednesdays started on May 6th, 2020 and will continue through June 24th, 2020 for 8 episodes.
The first of the 8-part series bega with a performance of Simcheong-ga (“Song of Simcheong”), a classic tale of the traditional Korean ethics of hyo, or filial piety, of the heroine Simcheong and her blind father, to coincide with the celebration of Parents’ Day (May 8th) in Korea. The performances are from the National Gugak Center, the representative headquarters of Korean traditional performing arts.
Every Wednesday, a new performance will be featured online across genres of Korean traditional performing arts including court music, folk music, pansori (Korean folk opera), among many more. Each performance video is accompanied by Korean and English explanations of the piece along with insights into aspects of Korean culture and the arts.
“I think it is important that we connect with each other through our shared passion for the arts,” said Executive Director of the Korean Cultural Center New York, Yun Jeung Jo. “Through Gugak Wednesdays, I hope that we can provide a platform for everyone to engage with Korean traditional arts in an easily accessible way; and also to be a source of solace and unity through music as we move through this time.”
This launch is presented as a part of the KCCNY’s “Experience Korean Cultural Center Online” initiative, a comprehensive online platform that brings together world-class performances and diverse cultural contents from the KCCNY and from various branches of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism including limited view screenings of performances of the National Theater of Korea, online viewings of exhibitions from the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea, the Korean Food Promotion Institute, and the Korean Film Archive. In addition, the section will include access to shared contents from its locally based partner organizations and institutions.
Gugak Wednesdays and the full virtual platform is on view www.koreanculture.org/kccny-online and through social media channels (Facebook, Instagram).
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central