Haman Culture and Arts Center Selected for Performing Arts Resident Company Development Support Project Competition

Aiming to Revitalize Performing Arts
and Promote Local Culture

Gyeongnam Haman Culture and Arts Center announced on the 6th that it has secured 75 million KRW in provincial funding after being selected for the ‘2025 Performing Arts Resident Company Development Support Project’ organized by the Gyeongnam Culture and Arts Foundation, together with the pungmul troupe Cheong-eum.

With this selection, pungmul troupe Cheong-eum will provide various cultural and artistic programs over the next year in collaboration with the Haman Culture and Arts Center. The Performing Arts Resident Company Development Support Project is an initiative promoted by the Gyeongnam Culture and Arts Foundation since 2010, aiming to revitalize performing arts and promote local culture through cooperation between performing arts groups and public performance venues.

Exterior view of Haman Culture and Arts Center.

This selection recognizes pungmul troupe Cheong-eum’s ongoing efforts to preserve tradition while pursuing new experiments. Cheong-eum has been actively engaged in the local community, attempting modern adaptations and fusions of pungmul and traditional arts.

Pungmul troupe Cheong-eum plans to showcase various traditional music and performances at local venues. The first repertoire to be presented is the pungmul madanggeuk (traditional Korean folk play) titled ‘Happiness-Bringing Pungmul Merchant Gussiya,’ which is based on folk customs and nongak (farmers’ music) of the Gyeongnam region. The program will feature flavorful acting and witty storytelling by the pungmul merchant character, along with pungmul performance arts, communicating with the audience and delivering positive energy.

As a creative (planned) performance, the family pungmul play ‘Spring·Summer·Fall·Winter’ integrates fading traditional Korean cultural elements such as the sacred tree (Dangsan tree), farming, and seasonal folk customs. It modernly reinterprets key aspects of Korean traditional culture to depict a life harmoniously blending village community and nature. The production aims to reexamine traditional culture, emphasize the importance of its preservation, and provide an opportunity for cultural heritage transmission to future generations.

Kwon Jeong-hyun, Artistic Director of pungmul troupe Cheong-eum, stated, “Through collaboration with the Haman Culture and Arts Center, we will present high-quality performances utilizing local artistic materials, creating opportunities for residents to feel and enjoy traditional arts more closely in their daily lives.”

Additionally, a representative of the Haman Culture and Arts Center said, “We look forward to various collaborative activities with the arts group as part of the resident company project,” adding, “We will establish ourselves as a cultural hub in the community, strengthen cooperation with local artists, and provide more artistic opportunities to contribute to the development of local culture.”