SUWON, South Korea—On Sunday Feb. 9, Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company staged its 2014 South Korea premiere at Gyeonggi Arts Center in Suwon.
Though having seen Shen Yun performances a couple of years ago, Mr. Kim Dong-hoon, Chairman of the Suwon Arts and Culture United Society, attended the performance again. He said in tears: “I was deeply moved. Shen Yun presented the diverse 5,000 years of Chinese history on the stage. It’s just like an epic.”
“Shen Yun conveys strong messages in a form easy for its audience to understand,“ he added. ”I think art is without boundaries, both of nations and people alike. No one can stop it, and this is the world of creation.”
Speaking of the fact that many people in the mainstream society around the world are deeply touched by Shen Yun, shared his sentiment. “Yes. Shen Yun actually means the beauty of divine,“ he said. ”After watching the show, not only was my mind purified, but I also gained some enlightenment regarding how to carry on with my life.”
As to the impact that Shen Yun performances may have on South Korean artistic circles, Kim Dong-hoon said that “I think they should learn something from Shen Yun.”
Before leaving, he strongly recommended Shen Yun to the people of South Korea, saying: “Now that the Republic of Korea has attached great importance to cultural prosperity, we hope that our people can see this novel performance to enjoy their lives more.”
Shen Yun Is Mystical and Magical
Among the audience members on Monday was Ryu Jiseung, honorary president of the Korean Beauty Culture Association. He considered the ancient beauty demonstrated by Shen Yun mystical and magical.
Ryu is a pioneer of Hair Design and Cosmetics, and is also the first male hair stylist in South Korea. At the end of the show, “Bravo” was exclaimed repeatedly to express his appreciation for Shen Yun. Ryu was particularly interested in the costumes of the Miao and Mongolian ethnic groups.
He explained that “Even though what they wore were traditional costumes, the fundamental design of the clothing is absolutely exquisite and splendid.”
“It’s really refreshing! Dancers disappeared from the stage and flew out of the backdrop! I’ve never seen this before!” he said, thrilled after his first experience seeing the animated backdrop.
The objective of the Korean Beauty Culture Association is to lead the trend of Korean beauty culture and Korean fashion culture based on national values.
Attending the performance with Ryu Jiseung was Jin Gyeonghwa, chair of an international furniture store. Chen also had high praise for Shen Yun. She said, “Two hours of spectacular performance left me feeling wonderful! The combination of Eastern and Western instruments is very distinctive. I think if Korean traditional dance is demonstrated this way, the audience may find it monotonous. But Shen Yun is not dull; it is organized very well.”
Ms. Jin especially enjoyed soprano Jiang Min’s voice. “Wow! It’s amazing! Even though it’s difficult for me to understand the lyrics, my heart and soul were deeply touched.”
She admitted to being especially moved during the program The Steadfast Lotus. “A repressed feeling was expressed through art. Even though the communist Chinese can refrain people from speaking freely, they cannot control people’s freedom of expression.”
Before the show, some Chinese appeared in front of Gyeonggi Arts Center under the command of communist regime to interfere with the performance. In this regard, Jin expressed she really didn’t know why it was so.
“This [Shen Yun] is freedom,“ she said. ”Shen Yun is spreading ancient Chinese culture to the world, and they [the Chinese regime] should be grateful. Shen Yun should be awarded instead!”
Marvelous Combination of Eastern and Western Musical Instruments
With the perfect combination of Eastern and Western musical instruments in the Shen Yun orchestra, the gracefulness of Shen Yun’s original music touched Korea Ceramic Art Association President Yoon Taewoon.
“It’s remarkable and meaningful that Eastern and Western musical instruments are successfully included in the orchestra,“ he said. ”The accompaniment played by the live orchestra added a lot to the success of the performance.”
“Every piece of Shen Yun’s original music is really exquisite, and they matched the performances on the stage perfectly,” he added.
Seeing this kind of traditional performing arts for the first time, Mr. Yoon said, “It was also my first time to see so many spectacular programs at the same time. This is a very outstanding performance. Every program involved amazing performance skills and traditional content. It’s indeed very touching.”
Shen Yun seeks to preserve the ancient values of traditional Chinese culture.
“After the Great Cultural Revolution, many parts of the traditional culture were been destroyed. Chinese people should strive to keep their traditional culture,” Mr. Yoon added.
“Shen Yun is reviving the traditional Chinese culture, not only in Korea, but also in the United States and other countries around world. After all, preserving traditional culture is something meaningful that every country should do,” he said.
Knowing that Shen Yun is unable to perform in China, Mr. Yoon felt deep regret. He also expressed that he would recommend that his friends attend Shen Yun.
Reporting by Dai Deman, Bill Xu, and Lauren Lane
Read the Chinese articles: [1] [2] [3]
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
