Korean creator and composer Jaha Koo returns to SPRING this year with Haribo Kimchi, a performance in which he takes us on a culinary journey through various absurd and moving anecdotes, exploring food culture as a form of language that reveals the structure of a society.Due to family circumstances, the performances of the production Haribo Kimchi by Jaha Koo, which was scheduled to premiere in Brussels this weekend and then be shown at SPRING, unfortunately have to be postponed to a later date. Therefore, all three performances at SPRING are unfortunately canceled.
- Theatre
- SPRING coproduction
- NL premiere
Haribo Kimchi
Accessibility
Due to family circumstances, the performances of the production Haribo Kimchi by Jaha Koo, which was scheduled to premiere in Brussels in May and then be shown at SPRING, unfortunately have to be postponed to a later date. Therefore, all three performances at SPRING are unfortunately canceled.
This performance is made possible by:
The heady aromas of a soup simmering and steaming, the short, sharp sounds of a knife slicing spring onions at high speed, the hissing and sizzling of mushrooms on a scorching fire. In Haribo Kimchi, we find ourselves in a pojangmacha, a typical late-night snack bar that can be seen scattered across the streets of South Korea. There we meet several lost souls: A YouTuber, an eel, a toad and a rice cooker. They take us on a culinary journey, exploring food culture as a form of language that reveals the structure of a society. In several absurdist and touching anecdotes, they recount the diaspora of Kimchi culture, cannibalism during the great famine, the searing pain of unadulterated racism and the deep umami taste of home.
After the Hamartia Trilogy (2021), in which he delved into the far-reaching imperialism in East Asia, the South Korean theatre maker and composer Jaha Koo returns to SPRING with his latest creation. In his typical hybrid style, combining music, cutting-edge video and robotic performers, the artist reflects on cultural assimilation with all its conflicts and paradoxes. In an exceptional performance that plays with all the senses, Jaha Koo alters our perception of food for good.
Aftertalk
Friday May 31 there will be an aftertalk moderated by Vincent Wijlhuizen.
Share
Credits
Concept, text, direction, music, sound & video Jaha Koo
Performance Jaha Koo, Seri, Toad & Haribo
Dramaturgy Dries Douibi
Scenography & media operation Eunkyung Jeong
Artistic advice Pol Heyvaert
Technical coordination Korneel Coessens
Technique Bart Huybrechts & Babette Poncelet Cuckoo
Hacking & Toad development Idella Craddock
Production coordination Wim Clapdorp
Tour management Leen de Broe
International relations Marijke Vandersmissen
Communication Sezen Atmaca production CAMPO
Coproduction Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Rideau de Bruxelles, Theater Utrecht, SPRING Performing Arts Festival (Utrecht), Festival d’Automne à Paris, Théâtre de la Bastille (Paris), Tangente St-Pölten, &Espoo theatre (Finland), Kampnagel International Summer Festival (Hamburg), Sophiensaele (Berlin), Meet You Festival (Valladolid), Bunker (Ljubljana), National Theatre and Concert Hall Taipei & Perpodium
With the support of the taxshelter of the Belgian Federal Government via Cronos Invest The prototype of the eel was developed as part of Innovation:Lab’s funnel in co-production with Theater Utrecht and creative technologists Adriaan Wormgoor & Willem Vooijs
Photo credits Jaha Koo & Eunkyung Jeong