By HyunCheon Kim
Translated by SeungYoun Woo


On November 11th, Kim DukSoo’sSamulnori group is performing at Sanders Theatre, Harvard University.

“The word, fun, is not enough to describe Kim DukSooSamulnori’s performance. The energy of the performance is so great that the souls in theplace are almost drawn into the play,” said Hae-sun Lee, the leader of the MIT Samulnori group, Oori.

Lee, who has met Kim DukSoo a few years ago, said, “He is incredibly popular among the people involved in Samulnori. He was almost in his 60s at that time but he had much greater charisma than younger players.” She also said that around 30 people, including her Samulnori members, will be attending the upcoming performance at Harvard.

People who have seen performances of Kim DukSooSamulnori are praising his play. Kim DukSooSamulnori once performed at the exact same place, Sanders Theatre, in 1999. Although Kim DukSoo was not present, the performance was successful.

“A thousand of the seats were filled completely. Not only Koreans but also Americans were greatly overwhelmed by the play,” said Myung-hoon Jeong, who watched the performance in 1999.

The director of Korean School of New England(KSNE), Carol Yoon, said, “The performance was very professional. It was so great that I still remember how interested the audience was. After the show, many audience members went up to the stage and enjoyed Samulnori together. My children liked it a lot. I’m planning to go see his group’s performance again.” She added that about 20 dance class students from KSNE also have reservations to attend the performance.

Kim DukSoo has been putting great e- ffort into popularizing Samulnori for more than 30 years now. He believes in learning the old tradition and creating new traditions. This is one of the reasons he continues playing Samulnori. He also infuses Samulnori with modern culture, combining it with other different types of music such as jazz, classic and hip-hop.

The upcoming performance in Boston is a quite special because on the day after the performance, November 12th, KimDukSoo is planning to hold a public lecture. During the lecture, Kim will be demonstrating a bit of Samulnori to introduce the traditional sound of Korea.“This will be the great opportunity for my group to see and learn directly from Kim DukSoo,” saidLee in excitement.

According to Lee, Kim DukSoo is “a performer with the great energy that comes from his years of experience.” Kim started learning to play Jang-go from his father. In 1959, he received the President’s Award from the National Nongak Contest, when he was just 7. Since childhood, he became well known as a Jang-go prodigy.

Afterwards, he was taught by many teachers and he started to perform actively around the world with the members of a professional Korean traditional art performing organization. He then founded
“Samulnori.” Kim began to pave a new way for Korean musical history. He was one of the “50 most influential people after the independence of Korea,” selected by the ChosunIlbo, the biggest Korean daily newspaper in South Korea. Kim is currently an artistic director of the Han Ul Lim art company and also a professor at Korea National University of Arts.

The upcoming performance of Kim DukSoo Samulnori is hosted by World music/CRASHarts and the ticket prices are $40, $32 and $28. The reservation is available through calling (617-876-4275) or online (www.WorldMusic.org). A 20% discount is allowed for a group with over 20 people; those who want this discount must call.

Performance Date: November 11th , 8:00PM
Place: Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge
Lecture Date: November 12th, 1:00PM ~ 2:30PM
Place: Harvard University, Holden Chapel, Harvard Yard, Cambridge.

ⓒ 보스톤코리아(http://www.bostonkorea.com), 무단전재 및 재배포 금지