Seoul Fringe Festival 2010

The 13th Seoul Fringe Festival has just kicked off its start in the Hongdae area, near the Hongik University and for the next two weeks or so, from August 12 to the 28, it will be the hive of activity in Seoul. The university is well known for its art-related studies and it is only natural that there are a lot of art galleries in the vicinity. Even on ordinary days Hongdae can be considered as one of the most vivid places in Seoul. Hongdae is also where most Koreans hang out as there are many good cafes and restaurants here, with great places to shop as well. But during this festival there will be much more. There will be lots of live performances in the streets, and art centers.

The festival originally began as an ‘Independent Arts Festival’ in 1998 and has now grown into a major event in Seoul. Festivities will take place all across the Hongdae area as 40 different locations both indoors and outdoors will serve as the stage for a variety of performances including drama, dance, musicals, and live indie rock concerts.
The Indoor portion of the art festival features over 200 plays, dances, mime performances, puppet shows, and interpretive dances by 120 performance teams, including ‘Traveling Alone’ by mime Taegeon Lee, ‘A Proposal Song’ by 4Audience Production, and ‘Chatter Hits the Road’ by choreographer Junghyun Kim. Tickets to the indoor performances range in price from 5,000 won to 15,000 won.
This year’s special overseas guests include ‘Clear Life’ by Vera Chen from Taiwan and ‘A dialogue on love: Lin Dai Yu Vs Juliet Capulet’ by Owen Lee, a mime from Hong Kong.

Outdoor street art festivities are open to all visitors, free of charge! Everyone is invited to enjoy improvisational dances such as ‘On a Trip’ by USD Modern Dance and ‘Fringe Travel’ by Et Aussi Dance. Performance artists and indie bands will be performing throughout the entire area, even in parking lots and on rooftops!
‘Ten Nights of Dreams’ performance by ‘Thursday 1pm,’ and ‘Looking for Normal’ by the group ‘Praxis’ add to the fun by allowing the audience to become part of the show!
So if you happen to be in Seoul during this time, this is an event not to be missed. I’m including a video ‘Seoul Fringe Festival 2009 on DiscoveringKorea.com’ so that it will give you an idea of what to expect during the festival.

What is a fringe festival, you might ask? Well from what I picked up from the KTO’s website this is what it’s all about.

‘Fringe’ means a cultural festival, where ‘future-oriented’ young artists come together to present their works of art such as paintings, music and street performances. The fringe festival originally began in Edinburgh, Scotland, and since then it has spread widely across the world. Currently, there are 70 Fringe festivals being held worldwide including Korea.
Since 1998, ‘Seoul Fringe Festival’ which originated from the Asian Fringe Festival has been held in about 20 artistic places such as small theaters, live theaters, and galleries around Hongik University in Seoul. At present, about three hundred teams from seven countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Macao, Japan, India, and Korea participate in the festival, and more than two hundred thousand spectators enjoy this large-scale art and culture festival.
Seoul Fringe Festival consists of a Music Festival, a Visual Arts Festival, an Asian Independent Film Festival, a Performing Arts Festival, and a Street Festival. In the Music Festival, Goseongbangga, which are various genres of music including rock music, traditional Korean classical music, dancing music, etc. will be presented by about one hundred bands at fourteen clubs in front of Hongik University.
The Visual Arts Festival, Naebugongsa, presents various art exhibitions and architectural planning exhibitions of domestic and foreign artists, which is free of charge. Starting in 2005, a special performance of making an ecological map using flowers and leaves which spectators collected around Hongik University.

The Performing Arts Festival, Igudongseong, presents various genres of performing arts including dance, performance, mime, jazz dance, etc. at small theaters located near Hongik University, and there is no screening tests or selection procedures for entry only volunteers. The Street Festival, Junggunanbang, in which various exhibitions and performances can be enjoyed on the street, is called ‘The Flower of the Fringe festival’ and presented freely on the street.
Make sure to check out Hongik University’s Club Day, which is on the last Friday of August. For only 15,000 won, music and dance can be enjoyed thoroughly by freely entering various clubs in the areas around Hongik University.
The best time to enjoy the club day is from 10 o’clock at night till 5 o’clock in the morning. The spirit of Korean underground music culture can be seen at Club Day, which will double the pleasure of the Seoul Fringe Festival.
Don’t know how to get there? Take the subway. Take Line 2, get out at Exit 5 of Hongik University subway station. Walk straight for 50 meters. Go through the alley between VIPS and Pizza Hut and walk straight for another 70 meters to the front gate of Hongik University
Walk in the direction of the street with the clubs and theaters on the right side towards Far East Broadcasting Co. (Geukdong Broadcasting Co.)
So I hope that you all will have a great time at the Seoul Fringe Festival! Wish I were there as this is what I’d like to see and do. So till next time 안녕하세요



Special thanks and appreciation to the following:
Photos and articles © courtesy
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr
http://korea.net/news.do?mode=detail&guid=49108
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCeWltdTGjk&feature=geosearch