It's Friday,... and it's time for our weekly "Life With Culture" segment.
Our culture correspondent Kim Bo-kyoung is here with us at the studio to let us know
what's on this weekend.
So Bo-kyoung, I heard you found something exciting for parents and kids?
That's right,... it is summer vacation time for young children but with the virus gripping
us more than ever,... it's quite difficult for parents to take their kids to shows.
For those looking for ways to safely enjoy quality performances, ASSITEJ Korea an organization
dedicated to performances for children and teenagers,... is not only presenting live
shows in theaters but has also decided to livestream them as the social distancing measures
have been beefed up.
Let's see what they have prepared.
To children and teenagers,... creative performances are important in boosting their imagination.
ASSITEJ Korea is an organization dedicated to promoting youth culture and arts,... and
they do this by holding performing arts festivals twice a year every winter and summer.
This summer is no exception,... and starting July 17th,... the ASSITEJ Korea International
Summer Festival kicks off its 23-day event.
For this summer festival, the organization took a big step in bringing the shows to stages
in other major cities nationwide such as Gwangju and Daegu to let more kids be part of the
festival.
Out of their 12 shows,... nine are from Korea and three from overseas,... with those performances
from abroad to be shown online through Naver TV.
"Three online shows from abroad include the nonverbal performance “Air Play” from
the U.S., the Japanese first generation shadow play “Hand Shadow” and the Canadian musical
theater play “Papa Hen”.
Though we are presenting these online this time, when the pandemic is over, we will invite
them to be on stage."
Originally, only the three overseas shows were available online,... but as the social
distancing level got beefed up,... the staff decided to have all the Korean performances
shown online at least once or twice through Naver TV while keeping several live shows
staged at local theaters.
"We have thoroughly prepared for visitors to safely enjoy the show at the venues.
However, lots of parents said in questionnaires that they are worried about the virus not
at the actual theater but on their way to the site.
So we thought going online was necessary."
Under the theme “Come with me, now ”,... the organizers hope the hybrid online and live
festival can let children continue to experience these mesmerizing shows.
(PKG )
Families with kids will be delighted to hear that they have another thing to enjoy this
sizzling summer.
How about grown-ups especially movie lovers?
Anything new?
Of course,... for those looking for suspense and thrills to blow away the heat,... the
Thai horror movie "The Medium" was released on July 14th... and it is proving to be a
big hit.
According to the Korean Film Council,... it has topped the local box office for two straight
days since its release,... followed by the blockbuster action film 'Black Widow'.
Set in rural Thailand,... the movie shows a family who have inherited special spiritual
powers.
It is a rare collaboration between South Korean director Na Hong-jin of "The Wailing" and
Thailand's director Banjong Pisanthanakun of "Shutter".
Na was responsible for the original script and production while Pisanthanakun was in
charge of directing.
These horror masters say they met each other five years ago, and Na offered the position
of director to his Thai counterpart.
"I am a big fan of Na and he is like my idol.
When I first got the script, it was a new type of horror movie which made me so excited
and I decided to give it a go.
I went to the northern and northeastern parts of Thailand to research about Thai folk religions
and shamans and got inspiration from them."
"I couldn't be on-site due to the pandemic but every time the shooting was over, the
director would send me footage to check.
I was surprised to see how he perfectly designs the scene before actual shooting.
Viewers say supernaturalism and exorcism with the backdrop of Thailand's exotic scenery
made even horror movie fans close their eyes,... so those who want another level of thrills
might want to check out.
It must be really scary.
Thank you Bo-kyoung for sharing all this information with us... and I will see you next week.
Thank you.