"Microcosm and Protagonist, Conveying the Message of Youth Potential and Light" [2024 Gangwon]①

Interview with Yang Jeong-ung, Chief Director of the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games
'Let's Shine Together' Theme Highlights Each Youth with a Spotlight
'Buldokkaebi' at Pyeongchang, Introducing 'Eoreumdokkaebi' for This Event
Promoting Korean Traditional Culture Worldwide through Futuristic Hanbok

"We started building the stage yesterday. It is composed of a simple runway, designed so that the youth athletes passing through here become the main characters on stage. Everyone is working hard to create a moment where everyone shines together."

Yang Jeong-ung, Chief Director of the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Photo by Yonhap News

With the global festival for youth, the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games, just over 20 days away, the Gangneung Speed Skating Oval, where the opening ceremony will be held, is bustling with busy staff preparing the stage. Yang Jeong-ung (55), the director in charge of the opening and closing ceremonies, is envisioning an opening ceremony where each athlete becomes the protagonist rather than a flashy stage. The opening ceremony, titled "Let us Shine," scheduled for the 19th of next month at Gangneung and Pyeongchang Dome, is expected to be an international event attracting worldwide attention, reflecting the elevated status of K-culture. Below is a Q&A with Director Yang.

- The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony, which you directed, left a strong impression worldwide. How are you preparing for the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony?

▲ While the Pyeongchang Olympics was an adult Olympics expressed with a grand and spectacular stage, this Gangwon event is for and about youth, so we are preparing an opening ceremony where the youth are the protagonists and each athlete can be in the spotlight. The stage is 60 meters long and 12 meters wide, with the cauldron and flagpoles on both sides. When the athletes walk along the extended runway, the opening ceremony theme "Let us Shine" is expected to be well realized.

A view of the Gangneung Speed Skating Stadium where the opening ceremony is held.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

- As the status of K-culture has risen, there is much interest in which artists will perform and what kind of stages will be presented at this Olympic opening ceremony.

▲ Many artists who can showcase the excellence of our culture will appear. First, Turns, the winning team of Street Dance Girls Fighter 1, will appear with youth dancers, dressed in school uniforms, performing high school students' hip-hop street dance. Since Korean street dance is famous worldwide, the first scene will be a powerful dance stage. Next, Ambiguous Dance Company, known for "Beom Naeryeonda," will perform a dance with an amateur youth team from Gangneung. They will express "community dance," where diverse people with social commonalities express community identity through dance, with the local amateur team portraying the Ice Goblin theme. While the Pyeongchang Games featured the Fire Goblin, this Gangwon Games will present the Ice Goblin for a fresh movement.

We are also preparing a K-pop stage, focusing on rookie artists who debuted this year rather than already successful teams. We secured them first, and they recently won rookie awards at the 2023 MAMA (laughs). TripleS will perform first, followed by LUN8. Both teams debuted this year, so we expect them to align well with youth trends.

Finally, the finale will be performed by the band 이날치 (Inalchi Band) and Ambiguous Dance Company, with music director Jang Young-gyu personally playing "Beom Naeryeonda." Jang Young-gyu of Inalchi Band and Kim Bo-ram, director of Ambiguous Dance Company, serve as the music and choreography directors for this event, promising a powerful closing stage for the opening ceremony.

- Olympic opening ceremonies are more sports events than cultural performances, so the stage direction might differ. What are your thoughts?

▲ Since the Olympics is a festival for athletes, official events like the national anthem, Olympic hymn, and IOC president's speech are inevitably important. However, it is also crucial to smoothly integrate the following cultural and artistic performances. Sports and culture are closely related, so I am deeply considering how to direct the official events so they do not feel rigid and harmonize with the artistic concepts of the subsequent stages.

Inside the Gangneung Speed Skating Oval where the Olympic opening ceremony will take place.
Photo by Yonhap News

- At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, there was controversy when our country's hanbok was introduced as the attire of a Chinese ethnic minority. Will hanbok appear in this Gangwon Games opening ceremony?

▲ While the Pyeongchang Olympics featured costumes reproducing traditional hanbok, this Gangwon Games will showcase futuristic hanbok to the world. The hanbok designed by Kim Young-jin, known for being worn by BTS, will be worn by the flag bearers themselves, introducing a new hanbok with creative sensibility and a futuristic appearance.

- Is there a stage in this Olympic opening ceremony that harmonizes digital and analog elements?

▲ The attempt at a digital cauldron is probably the biggest feature. The opening ceremony will light the real flame, but during the 14-day competition period, a digital cauldron will be displayed outside, lit with LED visuals. The screen will immediately reflect outdoor weather changes such as rain or snow on the flame. This is expected to be remembered as a new attempt reflecting eco-friendliness and sustainability.

- What message would you like to convey to the youth worldwide watching this opening ceremony?

▲ The slogan of this event is "Grow together, shine forever." Thinking about the concept of light, I see the potential of youth as a single light. Expanding that light and potential gradually to create the future. I want to convey the message that all youth, as microcosms and protagonists, come together to form a vast universe and shine together. Even in a dark world with conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine wars, I hope this event becomes a moment to reflect on the meaning of harmony and shining together.

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