Director Inari Lee from Nonsan Wins Presidential Award ... Connecting Peace through Art

Leading the Hwaseong City Eolirang Arts Troupe,
Honored in the Folk Performing Arts Category

Eolirang Inari, the director from Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, received the Presidential Award at the 21st Peace Arts Festival. Photo by Director Lee

Hwaseong City Eolirang Arts Troupe in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 14th that Director Inari Lee, who is originally from Nonsan, Chungnam, received the Presidential Award in the Folk Performing Arts category at the 21st Peace Arts Festival Peace Arts Grand Exhibition.

This award is the result of Director Lee's 48-year artistic career, as well as the longstanding efforts and passion of local artists.

Director Lee began as a six-year-old girl dancing to music in front of a radio shop in downtown Nonsan, and has since walked a singular path in the arts, attending the National High School of Traditional Arts and the Graduate School of Education at Dongguk University. She has grown into a prominent artist in the dance world, bridging both tradition and modernity.

Currently, she is a certified holder of "Seungmu," Gyeonggi Province Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 8, and has made significant contributions to the development of local culture and the arts.

Eolirang Inari, the head of Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province, received the Presidential Award at the 21st Peace Arts Festival. Photo by Lee.

The "Hwaseong City Eolirang Arts Troupe," which she leads, began in 2008 as an after-school dance club at Songhwa Elementary School and officially launched as a professional arts organization in 2015.

It has grown into a comprehensive arts group with more than 120 members, ranging from children as young as five to seniors in their 60s. The troupe covers a wide range of genres, including traditional dance, ballet, contemporary dance, pansori, and Korean traditional music, and is gaining attention on both domestic and international stages.

Director Lee has also taken the lead in planning creative dance dramas with the members and presenting performances that convey social messages.

In particular, "1945 Myeongja," which premiered last year, is an original dance drama set in Jeam-ri, Hwaseong. She took on ten roles herself, from scriptwriting and directing to stage design, successfully capturing both locality and artistry.

She stated, "I have lived my life considering art not as a means of making a living, but as a calling," and added, "This award is a gift for all the years I have spent trying to convey peace through art."