Culture 2019-2024

~ 2024 ~

Korean Heritage Symposium

The First & The Third Thursdays of March & April, 7:30 pm (ET)

Youn-mi Kim, Korean temples

This lecture explores the fascinating world of Korean Buddhist monasteries, exploring their architectural structures and rich cultural heritage. First, the impactful role of twin pagodas is explored in transforming traditional Korean monastery layouts. These architectural marvels are not only related to the Silla dynasty's unification war but also weave into the captivating lore of the dragon king protecting the country. The lecture will move on to the vibrant daily ceremonies that pulse through contemporary Korean Buddhist monasteries.

Dr. Youn-mi Kim is Associate Professor of Asian Art History at Ewha Womans University. Prior to joining the Ewha faculty, she worked as Assistant Professor at Yale University (2012-16) and Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University (2011-12). She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2010.

Yoon-Jee Choi, Buncheong Ceramic

Video

This introductory lecture covers the history of a particular style of Korean ceramic wares, widely known as buncheong 粉靑 [white-slipped stoneware]. Its unique position in between Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392) celadon wares and Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) white porcelain allows us to explore the critical transitional period in Korean ceramic history. All in all, this talk aims to serve as a guidebook that can become useful whenever people find buncheong or related objects in museums or galleries.

Yoon-Jee Choi is the Assistant Curator for Korean Art at the Asian Art Museum.

She is set to complete a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, where her interests are the industrialization and modernization of the craft industry in Northeast Asia. Her past experiences include an internship at the National Museum of Korea and a research assistantship for the Asian Museum Institute in Seoul. She completed her BA and MA at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

Meewon Lee, Mask-Dance Theatre

Video

This lecture is an introduction to Korean mask-dance theatres. It includes their brief history, regional distributions and their variations, the contents and the structure, stages, and masks of Korean mask-dance theatres, and so on. They are also compared with Shamanism, the possible origin of them. Toward the end, the aesthetics of their theatricality will be discussed together.

Meewon Lee is an Honorary Professor at the Korea National University of Arts. Her Ph.D. thesis from the University of Pittsburgh was "Kamyonguk: The Mask-Dance Theatre of Korea." Throughout her career, she has made significant contributions to the field of Korean theatre as a professor, critic, and academic

Jiyeon Kim, Peabody Essex Museum Korean Art Collection

Video

This lecture covers Korean collections stored at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts. PEM is set to open a new gallery of Korean art and culture in 2025. Hailed as one of the most important in the United States, PEM's Korean collection is dominated by works from the late Joseon Dynasty, including notable artworks in textiles, paintings, lacquerware, and ceramics created for use in Korean homes and ceremonies. One of the notable collections at PEM is also directly linked to Yu Kiljun (1854–1914), who served as the youngest member of the first official delegation from Korea to the United States and would go on to become a prominent politician and an early proponent of Korean globalization. She also moderated this series of symposiums.

Jiyeon Kim received a Ph.D. of East Asian art history from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her recent research topics include social status and artistic identity, collecting history of Asian art in Boston area museums, and gardens as social space. Apart from teaching art history, she worked in conversation and regional art administration and participated in in several exhibition, collection research, and publication projects. She is currently participating in the 2022 North American tour exhibition of the South Korean artist Park Dae Sung.

Celebration of Korean Family Month

The Concord Free Public Library, Concord, MA

May 4 - May 31

A month-long exhibition of Korean Calligraphy scrolls and books by Seong Ryul Jung and a few others.

Saturday, May 4

2:00-3:00 pm: Opening Reception, Art Gallery

3:00-4:00 pm: Korean alphabet workshop by Gina Kang and live calligraphy demo by Seong Ryul Jung

Saturday, May 18

10:00-12:00: Children's program (brush painting [Minhee Kim], paper folding [Aeryun Burt], names in Korean [Yoonkyung An])

12:15-1:00 pm: Dalcroze Eurhythmics (Age 6+, Limited to 10, registration required) [Sora Lee of Concord Conservatory]

Saturday, May 25

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Samulnori Concert by the Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago.

Samulnori ("samul" for "four things" and "nori" for "to play") is a percussion quartet consisting of barrel drum (Buk), hourglass-shaped drum (Janggu), gong (Jing), and small gong (Kkwaenggwari). Traditionally performed outdoors in village events and festivals, it recently took an indoor concertized form.

House Concert: Yoona Kim's Korean Traditional Music

Sunday, November 3, 3:00 pm

100 Puritan Ln, Sudbury, MA

YeomBulDoDuri TaRyeong, GunAk from YuChoShin JiGok

YuChoShin JiGok is one of the three types of YeongSanHoeSang (a court music suite that flourished in the mid-Joseon period). Originally used as ceremonial music in Buddhism, it has evolved over time to incorporate richer folk music characteristics. Today, we will perform the 7th, 8th, and 9th pieces—YeomBul (Budhist chant) DoDuri, TaRyeong (music with repeats), and GunAk (military march) —as a duo of Ajaeng and Gayageum.

GyeongSeoDo MinYo

The term GyeongSeoDo MinYo (folk songs) refers to both GyeongGi Province and SeoDo (West of GyeongGi) folk songs. While they have different ornamental styles, they share similarities in the scales and functional characteristics used in their music.

Additionally, since the 20th century, there has been active musical exchange between SeoDo singers and those in Seoul, resulting in songs that combine elements of both GyeongGi and SeoDo styles, particularly in the northern GyeongGi region.

Yun Yun-seok School of Ajaeng Sanjo

Yun Yun-seok (1934-2016) was a master of traditional Korean music and a prominent Ajaeng player who greatly contributed to the development of modern Ajaeng Sanjo (literally meaning 'scattered melodies', refers to a style of traditional Korean music with an instrumental solo accompanied by a drum). He introduced the innovative "JiBeomJil" technique (using thumb and index finger instead of bow), elevating the sound of the Ajaeng to a new level. His Ajaeng sanjo is characterized by its emphasis on improvisation and unique expression, with clear phrasing and strong accents at the beginning of each note, resulting in a powerful performance. Ajaeng Sanjo is structured in four rhythmic sections: JinYangJo, JungMoRi, JungJungMoRi, and JaJinMoRi, providing opportunities to explore various variations and emotional flows.

Program Book

~ 2023 ~

Korean Heritage Symposium

The First Thursdays of March to June, 7:30 pm (ET)

Moderator: Jiyeon Kim

Brush Painting 수묵화: Sungsook Hong Setton - recording

Sungsook Hong Setton is a painter whose works combine gestural abstraction with East Asian traditions of water-ink painting. She has exhibited throughout New York and New England as well as in Canada, England, China, Taiwan, and Korea. Sungsook is a brush painting instructor at the China Institute and the Art League of Long Island and is the author of The Spirit of the Brush (2016), which describes brush painting techniques and her personal journey. She trained with Korean and Chinese masters and holds a BFA from SUNY Stony Brook and an MFA from Goddard College

Ong-gi (Korean Earthenware): Hyanglim Han - recording

Hyanglim Han established Hanhyanglim Onggi Museum in 2004 exhibiting her collections of 20 years, in order to showcase scientific merits and artistic balance of Korean Onggi. Traditional Korean simplicity is embedded in Onggi, and the Museum strives to have Korea’s past be experienced and foster futuristic creative ideas. It also continues its research on preserving Onggi, which is designated as one of Intangible Cultural Properties of the Province.

(Pre-recorded with English subtitles)

Korean Shamans: Laurel Kendall - recording

Laurel Kendall’s research on Korean shamans began more than 40 years ago; in several books she describes the tradition in relation to women’s lives and how it has adapted to Korea’s many social and economic changes. Her most recent work concerns the power of images in Korean and related popular religious practices. Kendall is Curator of Asian Ethnographic Collections at the American Museum of Natural History and an Adjunct Professor and Adjunct Weatherhead East Asian Institute Senior Research Fellow at Columbia University. Kendall is a former President of the Association for Asian Studies (2016-2017).

Korean Embroidery: Lee Talbot - recording

Lee Talbot is Curator for The Textile Museum Collection at the George Washington University and the Textile Museum in Washington, DC. He joined The Textile Museum in 2007, specializing in the history of East Asian textiles. He has curated numerous exhibitions, including Bingata! Only in Okinawa (2016), Vanishing Traditions: Textiles and Treasures from Southwest China (2018) and Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway (2022). He has published catalogues, articles, and the chapters on Chinese and Korean decorative arts in History of Design: Decorative Arts and Material Culture, 1400–2000. He was previously curator at the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum in Seoul and serves on the board of the Textile Society of America.

~ 2022 ~

Korean Heritage Symposium

Four First Thursdays at 7:30 pm (EST)

March 3: Bojagi (Korean Wrapping Cloth) - recording

Chunghie Lee

Former Critic in RISD (retired); Founded Bojagi Forum, organizing bi-annual bojagi exhibition

https://www.facebook.com/beyondbojagi/

Bojagi is the Korean traditional embroidery , costumes and wrapping cloths, which are very interesting modes of expression in dye textiles and embroidery work varied according to family custom and use. The bold freedom from self -consciousness that suppresses personal desires, restraint , exaggero and hidden humor in the textile art of Korean women includes infinite beauty and mystery.

April 7: Han-ji (Korean Traditional Paper) - recording

Joungkuk Lee

Majored in Asian Paining

Co-authored <Let’s go and watch winds, Sunwoo> (선우야, 바람 보러 가자) with his wife KyungOk Lee, meditator.

Joungkuk Lee will introduce the process of creating traditional Korean paper (Han-ji), his own artistic world, and community education with diverse application of Han-ji.

The presentation is in video with English subtitle.

June 2: Gugaki (Korean Traditional Instruments) - recording

Soojung Shin

Researcher, National Gugak Center)

M.Music (Ethnomusicology) Goldsmiths University of London

Soojung Shin guides Gugak Museum through VR and explores how artistic and philosophical aspects are embedded in ritual instruments preserved in the National Gugak Center in Korea. To understand the musical instruments used in court, and will illustrate unique features and meanings and were represented by the colors and animals: pyeon-gyeong, pyeonjong, banghyang, teukjong, teukgyeong, geon-go, jin-go, nogo, yeonggo, noego, nodo, yeongdo and noedo, chuk, eo and bu.

July 7: Minwha (Korean Folk Painting) [Rescheduled from May 5] - recording

Sunglim Kim

Specializes in pre-modern and early 20th-century Korean art and culture.

Associate Prof., Dartmouth College

Tigers in Korean Folk Painting

In Korea, the tiger has been closely associated with its land, people, and culture. The map of Korea was seen as a crouching tiger while Koreans see themselves identified with tiger. In this talk, Prof. Kim explores Korea's long historical, cultural, and visual association with the tiger. Various thematic presentations of the tigers in Joseon painting will be examined to understand the development of Korean folk paintings, especially Tiger and Magpies.

Korean Family Month Celebration

Concord Free Public Library, Concord, MA

Sponsored by The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library

Exhibition of Minwha (Korean Folk Painting): May 3 – 31

Minwha (Korean Folk Arts) depicts customs, habits, ways of life in ordinary Koreans and includes yearning for life: yearning for happiness and long life, for luck and wealth, for marital harmony, etc. Images from nature such as flowers, trees, butterflies, fishes, as tigers as well as household items such as brush, book, porcelain, furniture, etc. are interwoven and bring out unique Korean beauty. Sometimes, Minwha carries sarcastic twists to the strictly hierarchical society. In exhibition are works by Seongmin Ahn from New York, Insun Cho, Sunhee Hur, and Jaeok Lee.

Children’s program: Korean Art and Craft: Saturday, May 14 – 2:00-4:00 PM

Clay cookie with Korean patterns

Book reading (30-40 min; A cut-out of a Korean dress for picture taking)

Color paper folding

Korean children's games

Sijo Poetry Workshop: Saturday, May 14, 2:30-4:00 pm

Prof. David McCann of Harvard Univ. (emeritus) will present a workshop on Sijo, the Korean vernacular counterpart to the Japanese haiku. The sijo is an interesting verse form, with strong performance aspects, much like today’s K-pop. Its three lines can also be seen as a good example for analysis and essay writing, as it unfolds with an Introducti0on in the first line, Development in the second, and then a rhetorical Turn to start the third line, and the Conclusion.

Traditional Music Concert: Saturday, May 21, 7:00 PM

Kyung-sun Kim: Gayageum (12-string instrument)

Isabelle Rhee: Janggu (percussion)

Yoona Kim: Ajaeng (string and bow)

Dr. Mina Cho: Jazz (keyboard)

Three Korean traditional instruments - Gayageum(12-string instrument), Janggu (drum) and Ajaeng (string instrument with a bow) - were performed by Kyung Sun Kim, Jihye Park and Yoona Kim. Also, Dr. Mina Cho, the founder of the 'International Gugak jazz Institute', added fun by improvising on the piano with Yoona Kim.

~ 2021 ~

Korean Heritage Symposium

September 9 - Han-sik (Korean Food): Dr. Sangyoub Park

Food is a connection to the past and a bridge to the future. Recently, hansik, Korean cuisine - as known as K-Food now - is very popular in the U.S. thanks to a combination of the government of S. Korea’s culinary diplomacy and the global success of K-Pop, especially BTS’ global phenomenon. This growing popularity of K-Food is a great opportunity to celebrate Korean heritage by sharing K-Food. In this talk, I will explore why and how to use K-Food (e,g, bibimbap, japchae, various banchan) to raise cultural awareness. In particular, I will share how the recent project, Tasting Korea, celebrated Korean heritage at the local farmers market. Sangyoub Park is Associate Professor of Sociology at Washburn University.

October 7 - Han-ok (Korean Architecture): Dr. Yongchan Kwon

In this talk, the focus of Hanok is on its traditional building and habitat. As a representative example, Hahoe Folk Village was registered in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in 2010 along with Yangdong village. Located in Andong, the village is a valuable part of Korean culture because it preserves Joseon period style architecture, folk traditions, valuable books, and tradition of clan-based villages. The village is organized around the geomantic guidelines of pungsu (Korean feng shui) and the village has the shape of a lotus flower. We will take a glimpse of the overall value of Hanok as a well-built environment for humans.

November 4 - Han-bok (Korean Dresses): Dress of Korean Identity: Dr. Minjee Kim

This talk will shed light on the inception of the term “hanbok” and the composition of the ensembles for men and women, and its constant transformation in the context of modern Korean fashion history. Then it will overview contemporary hanbok ensembles for new-born babies, children, young and middle age adults, as well as weddings, burials, and funerals. This talk will not only enhance general understanding of what hanbok is, but also provoke further thinking on the historical relationship between local and global fashion, modernity and tradition, and meanings of dress for all of us.

~ 2020 ~

The 7th Annual Sebae re-enactment

February 1, 11 am - 4 pm

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

MFA (Museum of Fine Arts in Boston) opens its door for free on Saturday, February 1 to celebrate Lunar New Year. KCSB participates in the celebration with Chinese and Vietnamese cultural organization, and perform re-enactment of SeBae (세배), a bowing ceremony to elders.

Also, Korean Traditional and Contemporary dances performed in Alfond Auditorium.

Garam Gugak Ensemble

March 11

University of Mass, Amherst, MA

(POSTPONED)

Garam Gugak Competition is one of the most prestigious competitions in Korea, and these musicians are exceptionally virtuosic artists. They will present the quintessential traditional Korean music genres including sinawi (an instrumental chamber ensemble), pansori (a vocal narrative genre), sanjo (an instrumental solo improvisational genre), namdo japga (a collection of southern folksongs for professional pansori singers), as well as contemporary compositions.

The Garam Ensemble concert is co-sponsored by Korean Student Association in UMass Amherst and Korean Cultural Service of Mass.

~ 2019 ~

The 6th Annual Sebae re-enactment

February 9, 11 am - 4 pm

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

MFA (Museum of Fine Arts in Boston) opens its door for freeto celebrate Lunar New Year. KCSB participates in the celebration with Chinese and Vietnamese cultural organization, and perform re-enactment of SeBae (세배), a bowing ceremony to elders.

Also, Korean Traditional Dance group from NJ performed.

Festival of Dance & GuGak

Sunday, September 29, 3 PM

Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston, MA

Gugak is inherently improvisatory, and can be seamlessly played next to classical, jazz, and contemporary music. Six Gugak masters (Tae-baek Lee, Ji-young Yi, Wan-chul Won, Hyeun-bin Lim, Tae-young Kim) from Korea opens up a rare performance of authentic as well as contemporary collaboration with Boston Ballet artists (principals Seo Hye Han and John Lam), cellist (Kari Juusela), and Korean Traditional Dance Group (three-drum dance).

The complete program is available here, along with an article in Boston Musical Intelligencer by Prof. Judith Eissenberg in Brandeis University and Boston Conservatory.

K-Arts Dance Festival

Thursday, December 19, 7:30 PM

Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, Lexington, MA

Fourteen dancers from the K-Arts Dance Company in the Korea University of Arts showcase traditional and modern dances. Five graduates of K-Arts University are currently active in Boston Ballet, including two principals, and other graduates such as Kimin Kim of the Mariinsky Ballet are active all over the world.

The complete program is available here.

~ 2018 ~

In celebration of Lunar New Year. KCSB participates in MFA event with Chinese and Vietnamese cultural organizations, and perform re-enactment of SeBae (세배), a bowing ceremony to elders.

Also, Korean Traditional Dance group from NJ performed in Alfond Auditorium.