National Theater and Korea National University of Arts Hold '70th Anniversary Academic Event of National Theater Establishment'

On December 8 at Dragon City Yongsan

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The National Theater of Korea and Korea National University of Arts (KNUA) will hold the '70th Anniversary Academic Event of the National Theater' on December 8 at Dragon City Yongsan.

Under the theme "70 Years of the National Theater and New Perspectives and Prospects Toward 100 Years," domestic and international artists and performing arts experts will gather to review the current state of the National Theater and explore its future direction. Originally scheduled for April, the event was postponed due to the spread of COVID-19.

The academic event, starting with a keynote speech by Kim Cheol-ho, Director of the National Theater, will be conducted in two parts. Part 1 will revisit the past and present of the Korean National Theater, established in 1950 as the first in Asia, and consider its future role as a center for creative collaboration in the performing arts sector. The session will be moderated by Professor Choi Jun-ho of the School of Drama at KNUA. Presenters include Sun Jae-gyu, Head of Performance Planning at the National Theater, and Professor Jeon Ji-young of the School of Traditional Arts at KNUA, with discussants Won Il, Artistic Director of the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra, and Oh Seong-ho, Head of Meta Planning Consulting.

Part 2 will explore the possibilities of new performing arts creation methods from various perspectives amid the expansion of non-face-to-face cultural and artistic content consumption, which is changing the traditional concept of performance, and will consider the role of public theaters. The session will be moderated by Professor Lee Seong-gon of the School of Drama at KNUA, with discussants including Professor Heo Yoon-jung of Seoul National University’s Department of Korean Traditional Music, Amanda Muelic, Cultural Attach? of the French Cultural Center in Korea, and Ong Keng Sen, Artistic Director of Tiewoks and director of the National Changgeuk Company’s production of "The Women of Troy."

Anyone interested in public theaters can participate in this event free of charge by pre-registering on the National Theater’s website.

The event will limit attendance and implement spaced seating according to the social distancing measures set by health authorities. Key contents of the academic event will be produced as videos and later released on the National Theater’s official YouTube channel.