The History of Korean Western Theatre (working title)
© Choy Jongoh

PROJECT

The History of Korean Western Theatre (working title)

The History of Korean Western Theatre is the last piece of the Hamartia Trilogy. This trilogy thematically focuses on how the inescapable past tragically affects our lives today. Jaha Koo has been proceeding with this trajectory since 2014.

Military style, Imperialism, Post-colonialism, Patriarchy, Hierarchy, Materialism, Capitalism, Totalitarianism, High tech, Male-dominated society, Feudalism, Cultural imperialism, Americanization, Dictatorship,…
These are the main keywords of Confucianism Modernity and South Korea. Jaha wants to create a fissure in the strong Confucianism Modernity. He believes that it’s also quite relevant for the international society.

The new work will focus on three subject matters: the identity of Korean theatre, the irrationality of Korean new religion and the educational system of Korea. At the same time Jaha will further develop his artistic practice by creating a new performance language: an intellectual audio-visual performance.

Jaha Koo

1984 KR
JAHA KOO (1984) is a South Korean theatre/performance maker and music composer. His artistic practice oscillates between multimedia and performance, all of which include his own music, video, text and installation. His performances are closely interweaved with politics, history and his own personal issues.

Since 2014, Koo has been working on his Hamartia Trilogy. This trilogy thematically focuses on how the inescapable past tragically affects our lives today. The first part of the trilogy, Lolling and Rolling, was first presented by Zürcher Theater Spektakel in 2015. The second piece, Cuckoo, was premiered at Steirischer Herbst Festival in 2017. Koo’s current project is the final part of the trilogy, The History of Korean Western Theater (working title). It will premiere in 2020.

Koo majored in theatre studies (BFA) at Korea National University of Arts and studied at DasArts (MA) in Amsterdam. GuJAHA is the pseudonym of JAHA KOO as a music composer. His most recent EP was Copper and Oyster in 2015.

Credits

Concept and performance: Jaha KooScenography, video and subtitles operator: Eunkyung JeongExecutive production: CAMPO