Insooni: "Honored to Join Yeowoorak... Hope to Promote Seodo Minyo"

National Theater's Summer Gugak Festival 'Yeowoorak' Opens on July 4
Over 200 Artists Participate, Including Jazz Singer Woongsan
Artistic Director Lee Heemun: "Hoping for a Minyo Hit Song"

"It is truly an honor to be part of Yeowoorak. I will be performing together with Yoo Jisook, a master of Seodo Minyo, and I hope that our performance will help raise awareness of Seodo Minyo, even if just a little."

National singer Insooni expressed her excitement and nervousness about participating in the Yeowoorak festival at the National Theater on the 11th. Yeowoorak, an abbreviation for "Here is Our Music," is the National Theater's flagship summer festival. Marking its 16th year, the festival has continued to pursue meaningful challenges and experiments in Korean traditional music. Over the years, it has drawn a total audience of about 82,000 people and achieved an average seat occupancy rate of 90%, establishing itself as Korea's leading festival for traditional music. The National Theater will hold the 2025 Yeowoorak from July 4 to 26 at the Haneul Theater and Dalooreum Theater. This year's theme is "Rediscovery of Minyo." Artists from various genres will reinterpret Minyo in new ways, presenting a diverse range of performances. Over 23 days, there will be a total of 12 productions and 16 performances.

Singer Insooni is expressing her thoughts on participating in 2025 Yeowoorak at a press conference held at the National Theater on the 11th.
[Photo by National Theater]

Insooni said, "The meeting of pop music and Minyo did not seem to be such a difficult task. When I was young, I often performed together with others on the same stage."

However, she added that she feels pressure about having to perform Seodo Minyo.

"I have listened to a lot of Gyeonggi Minyo, and I have heard some Namdo Minyo as well. There are a few songs I know, so I thought I could just do those. But Artistic Director Lee Heemun paired me with Yoo Jisook, a master of Seodo Minyo. I thought Seodo Minyo would be similar to Gyeonggi or Namdo Minyo, but it was a sound I had never heard before. The rhythm is fast, but the singing is deep. And the vibrato goes very deep downward. So I am thinking a lot about how to handle this."

This year's Yeowoorak artistic director, Lee Heemun, who suggested Insooni's participation, is a Gyeonggi Minyo singer. He is a boundary-breaking artist who has reinterpreted Minyo with a unique sensibility, becoming an icon of boldness and innovation. Director Lee also invited Woongsan, Korea's leading female jazz singer.

Woongsan said, "Jazz and Minyo have very different vocal techniques. The lyrics of Minyo are also difficult to memorize. I feel like I could perform a jazz song on stage after singing it about 100 times, but with Korean traditional music, I feel like I would need to sing it about 1,000 times before I could perform it on stage."

Jazz singer Woongsan (right) is performing together with geomungo player Lee Jaeha at the 2025 Yeowoorak press conference held at the National Theater on the 11th.
Photo by National Theater

However, Woongsan added that she has gradually been studying Korean traditional music.

"About 25 years ago, I was introduced to Korean traditional music through collaborations with Kim Deoksu and Ahn Sookseon. For the past 7 to 8 years, I have fallen more deeply in love with traditional music and have been studying and practicing it little by little. This performance is a stage I am truly eager for."

She added, "I know that after finishing this challenging work, wonderful things will happen, so I am spending each day with a sense of excitement and anticipation."

This year's Yeowoorak will feature the largest number of artists ever, with over 200 participants. Each artist is classified as a "Guardian," "Wizard," or "Alchemist." Woongsan will take on the role of "Wizard," in which masters from each field present unique performances. Woongsan explained that the characteristics of jazz music fit well with the concept of a wizard.

"Jazz is a genre with powerful vitality. It is music created in the freedom that changes every minute and every second, and it is completed as the present and the past coexist. Also, depending on what instruments and what audiences you encounter, it is music that is endlessly reborn like magic."

Lee Heemun, a Gyeonggi Minyo singer who was appointed artistic director of the 2025 Yeourak Festival, is speaking about his feelings on participating in the festival at a press conference held at the National Theater on the 11th.
Photo by National Theater

Artistic Director Lee Heemun will be in charge of the opening performance titled "Strange Minyo Land Himooni." He explained that the reason for choosing Minyo as this year's theme is because Minyo are, after all, songs that contain the stories of people from the past.

"Minyo were the popular songs of their time, so they contain stories of people's lives. Although Minyo is now a subculture, I sincerely hope that through outstanding artists, Minyo can be revived and become popular again. I wish we could have even one hit song like a pop song. After COVID-19, life has become difficult for everyone, but I hope that by watching the Strange Minyo performance, people can let go of some of their hardships."