Jeong Byeong-guk Chairman: "Changjak Sansil Lays Foundation for Korea as a Cultural Powerhouse"

31 Changjak Sansil Works Selected... Performances Starting January 3 Next Year

"Through Changjak Sansil, a remarkable total of 332 new artistic works have been created over the past 17 years. It has laid the foundation for our country's performing arts culture and has become the basis for South Korea being recognized today as a cultural and artistic powerhouse."

On the 17th, Jeong Byeong-guk, Chairman of the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (Arts Council Korea), explained the significance of Changjak Sansil during his greeting at the 'Performing Arts Changjak Sansil New Works of the Year (Changjak Sansil)' press conference held at the Artist's House in Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Changjak Sansil is the Arts Council Korea’s representative foundational performing arts support project. It discovers outstanding new works in six basic performing arts fields?drama, original musicals, dance, music, original opera, and traditional arts?and supports them step-by-step from production to distribution. It began in 2008 and is now in its 17th year. This year, a total of 31 works were selected: 7 dramas, 7 original musicals, 7 dance pieces, 2 music works, 3 original operas, and 5 traditional arts pieces. These will be showcased from January 3 to March next year at over 20 venues including Seoul Arko Arts Theater, Daehak-ro Arts Theater, National Theater of Korea, and Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.

Jung Byung-guk, Chairman of the Korea Arts & Culture Commission (right), and dancer Choi Ho-jong, who serves as the promotional ambassador for the "17th Performing Arts Creation Workshop New Work of the Year (Creation Workshop)," are introducing the Creation Workshop at a press conference held at the Artist's House on the 17th.
Photo by Korea Arts & Culture Commission

In the drama category, new works will be unveiled by Go Yeon-ok, winner of the Dong-A Theater Award and Cha Beom-seok Playwriting Award, and Bae Hae-ryul, recipient of the 11th Byuksan Culture Award in the playwriting category. The play "Gumisik," which deals with the story following Tennessee Williams’ representative work "The Glass Menagerie," also draws attention. In "The Glass Menagerie," set during the Great Depression in the U.S., Tom Wingfield, who works in a shoe factory and supports his irresponsible mother and disabled sister, is the protagonist of "Gumisik." In "The Glass Menagerie," Tom longs to leave his family behind and go far away like his father, whose whereabouts have been unknown for a long time. "Gumisik" tells the story of Tom living a new life in a fictional city after leaving his family as he wished.

In musicals, "Othello’s Retrial," a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s classic "Othello," and a musical adaptation of the 2006 film "That Summer," starring Lee Byung-hun and Su-ae, will be staged under the same title.

The ambassador for the 17th Changjak Sansil is dancer Choi Ho-jong, who won the final victory in Mnet’s dance survival program "Stage Fighter." Choi Ho-jong, former deputy principal dancer of the National Dance Company of Korea, also has a special connection with Changjak Sansil. He appeared in the 2020 Changjak Sansil dance category selected work "Dol."

Choi Ho-jong mentioned that after "Dol" was created through Changjak Sansil, it was performed on various stages until 2023, saying, "I think Changjak Sansil is a great project that discovers diverse new works," and added, "It allows creators to build their works in a good environment." Furthermore, as an ambassador, he pledged, "I will serve as a messenger connecting pure arts and audiences."

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