ACC: World Music Festival
Interview with Artistic Director Heo Yoon-jeong.
The Asia Culture Center holds the World Music Festival annually at ACC Plaza; it is among the most important artistic events organized in Gwangju. This year’s August event will be the eleventh for the ACC, but it will be arranged in a different manner due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gwangju News conducted and presents here a short interview with the ACC’s art director for the event. — Ed.
Gwangju News (GN): Thank you, Ms. Heo, for providing us with the opportunity for this interview. First, please introduce yourself and tell us how you got involved with the World Music Festival?
Heo Yoon-jeong: I currently teach geomungo [거문고, six-stringed Korean musical instrument] as well as creative and impromptu music at the College of Traditional Music of Seoul National University, and I am a leader of the jazz band Black String. Geomungo is a national intangible cultural asset (No. 16, Geomungo Sanjo), and I have been working as an art director for the Bukchon Changwoo Theater as a promoter to find young traditional musicians through the Bukchon Woori Music Festival and the Cheon Chamanbyeol Concert. When the ACC World Music Festival was held for the first time in Gwangju, I participated as a performer, and since then, I have performed for the festival several times. After the 10th anniversary celebration last year, I was invited as an artistic director by the Asia Culture Center and the Asian Cultural Institute, which wanted to make new changes.
GN: Please tell us about the programs that the audience will be able to see at the World Music Festival.
Heo Yoon-jeong: This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to make the lineup with only Korean performers since foreign artists wouldn’t be able to enter Korea. As I am a musician who plays traditional compositions and in a position to create new heritage in the 21st century based on this, I thought it would be great for the ACC World Music Festival to be the event to display it. Nowadays, in addition to K-music, K-drama, and K-movies, South Korea has also been highlighted for K-disease control and K-education, so we should make K-world music stand out even more during our festival. It’s the most personal Korean thing! Because it’s global. The essence of K-music, which is based on Korean music, is the festival.
GN: Who are some of the musicians and acts participating in this year’s World Music Festival?
Heo Yoon-jeong : Up to now, there have been no stage performances for traditional music at the ACC World Music Festival, but through two performances this year, “Namdo Legacy” and “Lee Hee-moon and Kim Jun-soo,” we will be able to showcase the essence and customs of traditional Korean music. Gwangju is the home of Namdo music; it is home to the traditional genres of sinawi, sanjo, and pansori and perpetuates their legacy. I think that they should be thought of as one genre, such as bossa nova, tango, or qawwali, through the promotion of our South Korean music to the world music industry.
“Namdo Legacy” is a very precious ensemble with master Kim Il-gu performing sinawi, master singer Lee Nan-cho performing pansori, and master Ahn Ok-sun performing gayageum sanjo. Lee Hee-moon performs the sounds of Gyeonggi-do, and Kim Jun-su performs pansori, making a unique performance where the audience can see the power of the two traditions combined with different creative compositions.
On the main stage, performances by Jambinai, Blackstring, ADG7 (ack-dan-gwang-chil), and Park Jiha, musicians with strong fan bases, will be seen not only in Korea but also at overseas locations. Moreover the three-member indie band Se So Neon, solo-singer Junggigo, the Kim Oki Band, and the Echae Kang Band will bring in new musical colors through their collaborations with Korean traditional instruments as well as performing their own music. OBSG (Obangsingwa) and SB Circle (Sinbak Circle) are bands that perform unique music with fans both domestically and internationally and enjoy hip popularity beyond the Korean traditional music scene.
The New and Rising Acts portion of the event will feature young performance teams such as Haepali (Jellyfish), Hwang Jin-ah’s band, and ChuDahye’s band, bringing novelty and an experimental spirit. The ACC Telematic Ensemble’s performance will be introduced for the first time through a telematic concert, an internet live concert that will be streamed worldwide. It will be live connecting South Korea and the U.S.A. The ensemble is composed of artists who have participated in the World Music Festival in Korea: the Grammy nominee and brilliant bass master Mark Dresser, trombonist Michael Desen, and pianist Joshua White.
GN: What is the concept or theme for this year’s World Music Festival? And where do you place the most emphasis when directing the event?
Heo Yoon-jeong: This year due to COVID-19, an outdoor stage is not feasible, so we will have an indoor performance, and even though the festival will be reduced in size in comparison with previous editions, the concept is “freedom and solidarity.” Although the global community suffers together, it is through “art” that one could express individual freedom in such a disconnected and isolated situation. And the value of art that connects and associate individuals and freedom is a topic that makes us think about what humanity truly is.
GN: Do you have any message that you would like to convey to our readers about this year’s festival?
Heo Yoon-jeong: Since comfort, encouragement, and empathy are necessary more than ever, we plan to create an environment where we could offer joy and comfort through music. A lot of things have been converted to online in this pandemic era, and this will accelerate in the future, but audiences and artists are craving for in-person performances and mutual dialogue. It’s not just a face-to-face or non-face-to-face problem; it’s a question of whether it is true communication or not. Our festival will prepare devices that create a better synergy in an innovative manner rather than simply replacing the existing modes, so it should bring safety and joy during this stressful period. Please give us a lot of support and attention.
GN: Thank you, Ms. Heo. In addition to being unique, it sounds like this year’s World Music Festival will be the ACC’s best yet!
Photographs courtesy of Asia Culture Institute.
ACC World Music Festival
Dates: August 21–22 (Fri.–Sat.), 28–29 (Fri.–Sat.)
Address: 38 Munhwa-jeondang-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju / 광주시 동구 문화전당로 38
Website: https://www.acc.go.kr/en/index.do
Phone: 062-601-4614
The Interviewer
Jeong Jiyeon studied piano in university in Seoul and has now returned to her hometown of Gwangju where she works as a coordinator at the GIC. She spends her free time in bed with her best friends, Netflix and YouTube.