"Starting New Challenges in Fashion and Dance... Want to Remain a Creator Until the End"

Interview with Director Jung Koo-ho on the September 20 Lincoln Center Performance 'Ilmu'
'Grimento' to Premiere School Violence Theme in Dance
Next Challenge After Dance: Video Work "Currently Working on Drama Script"

"What made me first challenge myself with dance? It was because I wanted to present tradition in the most modern form. Continuing the old spirit is important, but if it ends with mere imitation, it has no meaning."

Director Jung Koo-ho. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

Jeong Guho (58), a fashion designer who directed the traditional dance 'Ilmu' set to take the stage at New York's Lincoln Center on the 20th, has established himself as a guaranteed box office hit after 10 years of venturing into the unfamiliar dance world. Starting with his first direction of 'Dan' (2013), followed by 'Mukhyang' (2013), 'Hyangeon' (2015), 'Sanjo' (2021), and 'Ilmu' (2022), the traditional dance works that passed through his hands have been reborn with a modern sensibility, creating a great impact.

'Ilmu,' which premiered last year, is a traditional dance used in rituals of Jongmyo Jeryeak, characterized by dozens of dancers forming lines and performing the same dance. Director Jeong said, "When I first saw Ilmu, I thought there was no traditional dance as modern as this," adding, "The refined movements required breathing for balance and restraint despite their simplicity, and since it is a dance performed according to a strict form, I found space for new creation behind it."

He explained that form, rules, tradition, and regulations rather became the background for new creation. "When I first started working on Korean dance, my goal was to have tradition and modernity meet halfway, but if it becomes too modern, the audience might find it difficult, so I have been working on it gradually." The new tradition he presents in 'Ilmu' is realized in Act 1 Ilmu, Act 2 Chun-aengjeon and Gainjeonmokdan, and culminates in Act 3 with Shin Ilmu. This work involved contemporary dance choreographers Kim Seonghun (member of the UK Akram Khan Dance Company) and Kim Jaedeok (overseas resident choreographer of Singapore T.H.E Dance Company), who took charge of choreography.

A scene from the premiere of 'Ilmu' held last year at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. [Photo by Sejong Center for the Performing Arts]

As a designer taking on dance direction, he broke the convention where choreographers usually direct. He creates works by directing the scenario, stage design, music, and lighting of the performance while collaborating with choreographers on choreography. Director Jeong emphasized, "If you look at dance only as choreography, it is one-dimensional, but I wanted to create works that show the whole stage three-dimensionally by changing the perspective beyond the movements," adding, "The best image comes out only when choreography and the entire space harmonize as one."

In the case of 'Ilmu,' the traditional method requires the performance to take place on a square stage, but he said that the rectangular stage of the Sejong Center Grand Theater felt more Korean. "I was asked if the scale of the Grand Theater was burdensome, but rather, on the rectangular stage, the choreography, performed in perfect alignment without deviation as if measured with a ruler, could be shown more Koreanly," he said. "Since the large stage allowed for more imagination, I am looking forward to what kind of stage we will present in New York."

The Korean dance he presented has not only attracted young audiences to theaters domestically but also received praise overseas as "like a piece of ink wash painting." He added, "Instead, I always listen carefully to the opinions of the choreographers and staff and complete the message and philosophy of the work through communication."

Director Jung Koo-ho. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

His work focused on traditional dance is expected to continue into a new genre this year. The contemporary dance 'Grimento,' set to be performed at the Sejong Center Contemporary Season SyncNext stage in September, will be the first dance work to address school violence as its theme. Director Jeong said, "Watching news about school violence and OTT works dealing with it, I thought about expressing direct opinions on social issues through dance," adding, "Although enlightening messages through media might feel somewhat clich?d, I believe that school violence is a problem that needs to be emphasized and expressed hundreds of times until it is resolved and social awareness is formed." He further explained, "Since the story is set in a classroom and the protagonist is a student, props will also appear, so while focusing more on choreography, we are also preparing video work synchronized with the dance movements." He will collaborate again with choreographer Kim Seonghun for this work, following 'Ilmu.'

Having achieved great success with his fashion brand in his 30s and later playing active roles in various fields such as film and art?including overseeing the renewal of the Leeum and Hoam Museums and serving as general director of the Craft Trend Fair?he has recently been engrossed in writing drama scripts following his work in dance. "I write about 20 pages a day for five hours, and perhaps because I am more accustomed to associative work through images than writing, I am focusing on writing first, and I have about five synopses completed," he said. "Both fashion and dance started from new challenges, and that creative desire keeps me alive. Like video, beyond the results, I want to remain a creator until I die," he concluded.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.