Culture veteran to hold the pansori contest in Paris

Lee In-gweon, CEO of the Sori Art Center of North Jeolla Province

A culture veteran is initiating a drive to globally spread Korean traditional music “pansori” by holding a contest in Paris, France, sometime in June.

Pansori is a Korean style narrative song, in which a single performer accompanied by a drummer sings a story.

Lee In-gweon, CEO of the Sori Art Center of North Jeolla Province, has been inspired by the worldwide spread of K-pop to Europe and Latin America beyond Asia.

“I named it ‘K-vox’ program. The pansori contest is the part of the program,” he said in an interview with The Korea Times.

“As Paris is the center of culture in Europe, we will hold the contest there. Participation in this event will be limited to foreigners with the exception of Koreans who are already familiar with pansori,” he said.

“I heard this kind of event that lets foreigners sing Korea’s traditional songs has never been held before,” he added.

The CEO said they will pick the top five people among participants and invite them to perform at the art center at the end of the year.

Lee is also planning another large scale play in October where artists from three countries ― Korea, Japan and China ― will participate.

“The play is supported by the Japan Foundation with investment of more than 2 billion won (approximately $1.9 million) for the production. The story is about the human touch,” he said. The center is planning a conference with the media and relevant figures toward that end in March, along with investor the Japan Foundation.

The play will be performed in Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Jeonju.

He admitted that, although the scale of his art center is pretty big compared to other institutes in the nation, it is not easy to carry out cultural exchanges with foreign countries as a local organization.

“But, I think I could hold the play as I have personal contacts in Japan. Thanks to my rich experience in the cultural sector over the last 30 years, I have met many people related to the area around the world,” he said.

Lee, also a professor of Art Management at Yewon Arts University, has a good command of English. He is able to directly communicate with management companies around the world and invite various artists.

He said he taught himself how to speak, read and write English. He is a fervent reader of The Korea Times as well.

“About 30 years ago, I was employed by the Joongang Ilbo for its cultural projects. At the time, it was looking for a person who spoke English well ― that was rare in 1980s ― so that it could invite global artists,” he said.

He said since then he has been working in the cultural sector.

“At first, I was a hands-on worker in the cultural department and then I served as a manager. And finally, I began serving as the CEO of the Sori Art Center for 10 years,” he said.

Lee is also well-known for writing books as well. He has written 10 books so far, which are mostly about culture and English.

“I wrote my first book ‘A 65-year-old British Young Man’ in 1993. The story was based on one of my columns that I wrote for The Korea Times.”

The latest book, “The Secret to Success and Happiness through English” was published in July. <The Korea Times/Jun Ji-hye>