South Korea and Canada are jointly producing an original musical titled 'R:LINK,' based on the Battle of Gapyeong during the Korean War. The Battle of Gapyeong took place from April 23 to 25, 1951, where the Commonwealth forces, led by the Canadian military, achieved a decisive victory and halted the southward advance of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.
On the morning of the 21st, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that a production press conference for 'R:LINK' would be held at the Canadian War Memorial in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry is scheduled to attend and encourage young artists and officials from both countries.
The joint production of 'R:LINK' by South Korea and Canada was arranged to mark the '2024?2025 Korea-Canada Year of Mutual Cultural Exchange.' Professors and students from universities in both countries, including Hanyang University in Korea, the University of Saskatchewan, Capilano University, and the First Nations University of Canada, are participating in the production.
During the war, it is known that Canadian soldiers played ice hockey on the frozen Imjin River to ease their homesickness. Inspired by this true story, the musical depicts the friendship and solidarity between Seok-gu, a Korean boy, and David, a Canadian soldier who dreamed of becoming an ice hockey player, as they use the frozen river in Gapyeong as an ice hockey rink (Rink) and unite (Link) to protect peace. 'R:LINK' is scheduled to be performed on July 26?27 at the Seoul Content Korea Lab (CKL) Stage and on August 15?16 at the BlueShore Theatre at Capilano University in Vancouver, Canada.
The production press conference will begin with a flower offering and a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Battle of Gapyeong, followed by a reenactment of the battle and presentations of key musical numbers. About 80 people, including Tamara Mawhinney, Canadian Ambassador to Korea, Lee Ki-jung, President of Hanyang University, Seo Tae-won, Mayor of Gapyeong County, Park Chang-sik, President of the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, and representatives from universities of both countries, will attend.
In September 2022, during a summit between the two countries' leaders, South Korea and Canada agreed to promote the '2024?2025 Korea-Canada Year of Mutual Cultural Exchange.' On June 25, 2024, Minister Yoo In-chon and Pascal St.Onge, Canadian Minister of Heritage, signed a memorandum of understanding to launch full-scale exchange events. Last year, South Korea held various events in Ottawa and Toronto, including the National Gugak Orchestra's 'Connection' performance, a joint animation film special exhibition (September?October), literary and publishing exchanges (November), and support programs for young artists' overseas advancement (November). Canada hosted exhibitions at the Gwangju Biennale (September), special virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) exhibitions (November), and the Canadian Film Festival (November).
This year, the two countries plan to continue diverse projects such as exchanges at children and youth film festivals (March?July), international film festival exchanges (April?October), jazz music festival exchanges (June?October), street arts festival exchanges (August?October), and special contemporary art exhibitions (August). Notably, the 'Korea-Canada Disability Arts Exhibition' (October?November), jointly planned by leading disability arts organizations from both countries, is expected to widely promote the values of cultural diversity and inclusive arts.
Minister Yoo In-chon stated, "I hope the noble spirit of sacrifice of Canadian veterans will be known through this musical and remembered forever by future generations." He added, "I expect that this performance will serve as a catalyst for active exchanges among young artists from both countries and further expand cooperation in sports and cultural industries."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
