One of the means of experiencing the Korean culture is to watch some performances with representative Korean cultural elements. There are in fact some good performances which you can enjoy even if you don’t know Korean. Let’s talk about some of them in this blog post.

Nanta (난타)

Nanta is a well-known non-verbal comedy show which incorporates the Korean traditional percussion music, samulnori, in its performance and is presented through music and motions. Since its debut in 1997, the show has been watched by a large audience of 8.1 million. The show is about the cooks preparing food for a wedding banquet in a kitchen, so instead of using the traditional percussion musical instruments, the performers use knives, dishes, and cutting boards as musical instruments. The audience can also become part of the show and interact with the performers, for example, being the bride and groom in a traditional Korean wedding ceremony, competing in piling up the dumplings, etc. There are 3 Nanta theaters in Seoul located in Myeongdong, Hongdae and Chungjeongno.  You can get further information about the Nanta show by visiting their website. You can also watch an extract of the Nanta show by clicking this link.

Jump

Jump is a non-verbal comedy show presented through martial arts skills (including the Korean taekwondo) and acrobatics. The show is about the story of some guests visiting the home of a family of martial artists. The martial arts and acrobatic movements of the performances are spectacular and their comedic acting is really amusing. You can get a glimpse of the Jump show by watching this video.

B-Boy Theater

South Korea is a famous b-boying nation, and has a theater dedicated exclusively for b-boying performances in Hongdae. Apart from performances by top b-boy dancers who have won international competitions, you can also watch other genres of dances such as poppin, rocking and hip hop. Moreover, you may even learn K-pop dance from professional dance instructors here. You can watch an extract of the b-boy musical called “Kung” (쿵) by clicking this link.

Klive (케이라이브)

Klive is a cultural space where you can watch various genres of hologram contents including K-pop, entertainment, education and arts. If you don’t have the time to go to a live K-pop concert, you can attend a K-pop hologram concert by Hallyu stars like Big Bang and Psy through virtual reality. With a panorama screen of 270 degrees, 14.2 channel surround sound system, colorful lightings and laser beams, the K-pop hologram concert can really make you feel like you are attending a live K-pop concert. You can get a glimpse of how such K-pop hologram concert looks like by watching this video.

While you are in Seoul, you can watch these Korea-specific performances to experience the Korean culture.  Enjoy the shows! 🙂

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References:

Seoul Best 100, Seoul Metropolitan Government, December 2016

Seoul: A Fun Vacation for the Whole Family, Seoul Metropolitan Government, December 2016