Jaha Koo: HARIBO KIMCHI

Cooking is imbued with cultural identities and social beliefs. Cooking is also a moment of fusion and mixing of ingredients in the literal sense and of cultures in the figurative sense. Food and the exploration of identity also feature prominently in the performances of Jaha Koo, a South Korean theatre and music artist based in Belgium.
He has already performed at the Mladi Levi Festival with Cuckoo, in which he explored the history of South Korean society in the company of a rice cooker. This time, in co-production with Bunker, he brings to the stage the so-called “pojangmacha”, the typical Korean fast food stall, where he is joined by an assembly of lost souls – an eel, a snail… and, once again, a rice cooker. They try to find their way between kimchi, the traditional Korean fermented cabbage, Haribo gummy candies, the traditional Western European candy, and national myths, tradition, globalisation and the commercialisation of Korean food, all while trying to offer insights into contemporary societies and the relationships between and within them through the cuisine.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Premiere: 27th June 2024, Tangente St. Pölten
Premiere (Slovenia): 30th August 2024, Stara mestna elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana, festival Mladi levi

Upcoming performances:

  • 13th March 2025, Porto (Portugal)
  • 14th March 2025, Porto (Portugal)
  • 19th March 2025, Rotterdam (Netherlands)
  • 2nd March 2025, Rotterdam (Netherlands)
  • 24th April 2025, Kraków (Poland)
  • 25th April 2025, Kraków (Poland)
  • 29th April 2025, Mechelen (Belgium)
  • 13th May 2025, London (England)
  • 14th May 2025, London (England)
  • 27th June 2025, Lille (France)
  • 12th July 2025, Breda (Netherlands)
  • 18th September 2025, Espoo (Finland)
  • 19th September 2025, Espoo (Finland)
  • 20tn September 2025, Espoo (Finland)

Past performances:

  • 9th March 2025, Madrid (Spain)
  • 8th March 2025, Madrid (Spain)
  • 6th March 2025, Valladollid (Spain)
  • 5th March 2025, Valladollid (Spain)
  • 27th February 2025, Ghent (Belgium)
  • 26th February 2025, Ghent (Belgium)
  • 14th December 2024, Paris (France)
  • 13th December 2024, Paris (France)
  • 11th December 2024, Paris (France)
  • 10th December 2024, Paris (France)
  • 9th December 2024, Paris (France)
  • 29th November 2024, Nijmegen (Netherlands)
  • 23rd November 2024, Berlin (Germany)
  • 22nd November 2024, Berlin (Germany)
  • 14th November 2024, Ghent (Belgium)
  • 13th November 2024, Ghent (Belgium)
  • 27th October 2024, Kyoto (Japan)
  • 26th October 2024, Kyoto (Japan)
  • 25th October 2024, Kyoto (Japan)
  • 22nd September 2024, Utrecht (Netherlands)
  • 22nd September 2024, Utrecht (Netherlands)
  • 21st September 2024, Utrecht (Netherlands)
  • 31st August 2024, Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  • 30th August 2024, Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  • 10th August 2024, Hamburg (Germany)
  • 10th August 2024, Hamburg (Germany)
  • 9th August 2024, Hamburg (Germany)
  • 8th August 2024, Hamburg (Germany)
  • 2nd August 2024, Oostende (Belgium)
  • 2nd August 2024, Ostend (Belgium)
  • 1st August 2024, Ostend (Belgium)
  • 28th June 2024, St-Pölten (Austria)
  • 27th June 2024, St-Pölten (Austria)

CREDITS

  • Concept, text, direction, music, sound and video: Jaha Koo
  • Performance: Gona, Seri, Haribo & Jaha Koo
  • Dramaturgy: Dries Douibi
  • Scenography and media operation: Eunkyung Jeong
  • Artistic advice: Pol Heyvaert
  • Technical coordination: Korneel Coessens
  • Technique: Bart Huybrechts, Babette Poncelet
  • Cuckoo hacking: Idella Craddock
  • Slovenian translation: Tadej Turnšek
  • Production coordination: Wim Clapdorp


    Production: CAMPO
    Co-production: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Rideau de Bruxelles, Theater Utrecht, SPRING festival, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Théâtre de la Bastille, Tangente St. Pölten Festival für Gegenwartskultur, &Espoo theatre, Internationales Sommerfestival Kampnagel, Sophiensaele, Meet You Festival, Bunker, Ljubljana, National Theatre and Concert Hall Taipei, The Divine Comedy International Theater Festival / Teatr Łaźnia Nowa & Perpodium

    With the support of: Taxshelter of the Belgian Federal Government via Cronos Invest & the Flemish Government, Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije, Mestna občina Ljubljana

    The prototype of the eel was developed as part of Innovation:Lab’s funnel in co-production with Theater Utrecht and creative technologists Adriaan Wormgoor & Willem Vooijs.