'For Citizens Weary from COVID-19'... Incheon Culture & Arts Center, 'Coffee Concert - Kim Mokkyung' Online Live Broadcast

Kim Mok-kyung
[Photo by Incheon Culture & Arts Center]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon Culture & Arts Center will live stream its signature brand performance, the 'Coffee Concert,' online without an audience to support citizens weary from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Started in 2008 and having attracted over 56,000 spectators, the Coffee Concert has established itself as Incheon Culture & Arts Center's representative brand. It is a matinee concert held once a month on Wednesdays at 2 p.m., beloved by numerous enthusiasts.

This performance, titled 'Cultural Vaccine! ,' is presented with the hope that culture and arts will boost citizens' immunity and emotional vitality.

Planned in line with the 'social distancing' measures to overcome COVID-19, this event is a collaboration between the Incheon City Communication Planning Office and Incheon Culture & Arts Center.

On the 22nd at 2 p.m., audiences can enjoy the concert from home via Incheon City's official YouTube channel and Incheon Culture & Arts Center's Facebook page. The recorded broadcast will also be available later on the same channels.

The star of the April Coffee Concert stage is Kim Mokkyung, a blues music master celebrating 30 years since his debut this year. Kim Mokkyung, known for his exquisite blues songs such as 'Burujima,' 'Play the Blues,' 'Lonely Wanderer,' and 'Don't Stop,' is also the original author of 'The Story of a 60s Elderly Couple,' widely known through the late Kim Kwangseok.

Kim Mokkyung's first album, 'Old Fashioned Man,' released in 1990, showcased various blues sounds that were unfamiliar at the time, accelerating the popularization of blues music in Korea.

In 2003, he was invited as the first Asian singer to the 'Beale Street Music Festival' in Memphis, USA, known as the 'home of blues and rock and roll,' presenting the high level of Korean blues music to the world.

The late pop columnist Kim Gwanghan once said of him, "There is no other singer in Asia who is both a top-level blues guitar player and vocalist like Kim Mokkyung," highlighting his incomparable value.

This stage will showcase Kim Mokkyung's musical world, which sublimates the unique Korean sentiment of 'Han (恨)' into blues music, built through his long musical activities in the UK.

Kim Gyuho, director of Incheon Culture & Arts Center, said, "As COVID-19 continues and people feel fatigued, we planned this online Coffee Concert hoping that citizens can build emotional immunity and cultural artists can continue their performances."