(Seoul's Cheonggye Stream)
It's been a sweltering summer here in Seoul these past weeks, and like everyone else, I avoided going outdoors, lest I wanted to melt. Ha-ha-ha!
Although the giant water ride drew everyone towards Sinchon last month for people to temporarily cool off, that was just a short respite.
And as I made my way one night towards the Cine Core Theater in the Jongno District of Seoul to watch a special performance of Sa-choom!, I spied on some locals literally cooling their feet on the Cheonggye Stream. I would have wanted to join them if it were not for the the 8PM showtime.
Not surprising, there were more locals queuing for their tickets at the box office. If this were months ago, or shall I say during the pre-MERS days, the Chinese tourists lining up to watch this non-verbal performance would have outnumbered locals.
(Queuing for their tickets)
Compared to other shows, you can actually take photographs during the performance, but sadly, I couldn't bring in an iced cafe mocha. You can only take with you bottled water. And after I took my seat next to Vicky, a visiting tourist from Frankfurt, Germany, I took around and noticed that all seats were taken! I assumed it's the summer vacation; so, everyone made sure they enjoyed a Korean performance or two.
I saw Sa-Choom in April, and I wasn't that impressed with what I saw. Perhaps, it was a different team that performed for the K-Performance Supporters that night. Tonight, however, the team of performers seemed to have raised their level. But I think the show's contents - the choreography, costumes, music, and storyline - were the problem. It would work for a visiting tourist who may find it a novelty, but not for me.
This team's lead actor, Bin, was just like the same as the other team: he has no presence on stage and couldn't even rap his songs properly. He was just tall and could do chest stand. Luckily, the lead actress could sing! The director should have exploited this talent more by giving her more 'screen time' to show off her good vocals. Yes, she was pretty, skinny, and could sing! I wonder if she actually tried out for a K-pop album.
(This guy doing the breakdance is the
best among the back-up dancers)
After the show, I asked Vicky which characters she liked; her favorites were Jong-yeok, the emcee (played by Jang Dong-ho) and that underdog character who danced in his pajamas and could dislocate his shoulder while bboy dancing! I agreed with her choices. These two were the redeeming characters of the show; they had showmanship and energy level above everyone else on stage.
(Dancing in one's pajamas!)
(Minister Kim Jongdeok of Culture, Sports and Tourism joins the performers on stage to encourage everyone to help in the efforts to promote Korean performances)
(Sa-choom gift packs were given
away to lucky audience members)
And since it was a special performance that night, the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports, Mr. Jongdeok Kim, gave a short speech encouraging everyone to help promote Korean tourism to reverse the MERS effects. He also gave out three Sachoom gift packs to three lucky audience members.
So, if you're still on your summer vacation, do catch some Korean performances in Seoul, and then you can perhaps also cool off your tired feet on the Cheonggye Stream!
This is what I like about the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). They know how to show their appreciation for the efforts of the bloggers, specifically those who help promote musicals, non-verbal performances and other shows in Seoul. I have been a member of this group of bloggers, the K-Performance Supporters, for a few years now, and all this time being a member, I have always enjoyed the events as well as the performances (well, most of it anyway) that I watched and wrote about.
And speaking of bloggers, I am also a member of the Global Seoul-Mates group run by the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), and I couldn't help but notice the glaring difference between the two tourism organizations.
I think the people running the STO can learn a lot from the KTO team. STO's programs are un-creative and lacking objectives. I have a feeling STO people are also lazy; I could not even get a decent email reply from them, and they could not even be bothered to send me the prizes they promised. And that was almost a year ago. Oh, well. Some bureaucratic mentality must have gotten into the minds of the people working at the STO, and I hope they're reading this. Ha-ha-ha!
(Making my own patpingsu!)
(My favorite shot of the night!)
The KTO teams, on the other hand, are very active and know what they are doing. And last week, to welcome the 2015 K-Performance Supporters, the KTO feted everyone to a buffet dinner at VIPS restaurant in the Jongno District in Seoul! Yes, it was a buffet!
In 2014, the 3rd K-Performance Supporters group were also welcomed at the same restaurant and had a fun time watching the Ka-Boom performance. This year, however, the bloggers watched another show, Sachoom!
I saw Sachoom about two years ago when it was still being performed at the Nakwon-dong Arcade near Insadong. This time, they're performing at the Cine Core Building in the Jongno District in Seoul. It's the same building as the show, JUMP.
(In most performance, there's always the
required audience participation section)
Sachoom is an 85-minute dance musical with about 12 dancers making up the ensemble, who engages the audience with a few genres of dance: modern jazz, bboy, tango, and a few dance steps you'd see from Dancing 9 and some K-pop performances. In between, there was mime, a slapstick comedy sketch, and of course, the required audience participation section.
(I was relieved she could sing.)
Although the showmanship is there, the show could do some help in the costume section and choreography. All the lead dancer/actor did was stretch his arms wide, do handstands and flash a smile. And while his female counterpart could sing a few bars, I have a feeling she wasn't exactly hired for her dancing.
Sachoom didn't give me an obvious reason why it should be watched. It was just a few dance numbers put together with a few comedic antics squeezed in between to tickle the audience. Nothing more. But luckily for the audience, we were allowed to take pictures (without flash) during the show, and it kept me busy. Yes, all night long. Ha-ha-ha! I even featured one photo that I liked in a separate blog.
But thanks to the Korea Tourism Organization for the dinner treat that night. I truly enjoyed making my own patpingsu! Other than the dancing, I hope my fellow 2015 K-Performance Supporters also enjoyed the dinner and dessert!
Until the next event!
