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 Utrecht 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.
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