Korean selected as guest language of 2026 Avignon Festival
The Avignon Festival, one of the world's most vibrant performing arts festivals, announced Wednesday that it has selected Korean as its official guest language for the 2026 edition.
This is the first time an Asian language has been chosen as the guest language.
'The Avignon Festival welcomes an Asian language that is now enjoying worldwide popularity. South Korean culture fascinates the world: K-pop, cinema, series, literature. But beyond this soft power, we want to show the richness of Korean performing arts,' the Avignon Festival said in its announcement on Facebook on Tuesday.
Held annually in July in the historic city of Avignon, the festival, founded in 1947, attracts more than 100,000 visitors and showcases performances spanning theater, dance, music and interdisciplinary works.
The guest language initiative was introduced by current artistic director Tiago Rodrigues to spotlight the arts and culture of a specific linguistic region. The previous guest languages were English (2023), Spanish (2024) and Arabic (2025).
With the guest language selected, a slew of Korean theater works are expected to be invited to the festival's IN (main) program. The Korea Arts Management Service, as the official partner, is working closely with the Avignon Festival on a co-curated program.
Whereas the OFF section is open to independent participation, the IN program is curated by the festival. This will mark the first time in 28 years that Korean works are officially invited to the IN program, following the 1998 'Desire of Asia (Desir d'Asie)' project.
Rodrigues' decision follows his visit to Korea in October 2023, when he attended the Seoul Performing Arts Festival, organized by KAMS. During the trip, he also performed his work "By Heart," a piece centered on memorizing poetry.
"There's something about the power of trying to translate, trying to understand the other, which is extremely important nowadays in theater — but also in society,' Rodrigues said in the 2023 interview with The Korea Herald.
'This is a rare opportunity to share the emotional depth, experimental energy and spirit of Korean performing arts with the world,' said Kim Jang-ho, president of KAMS.
'Through continued exchange between Avignon and SPAF, we aim to strengthen the international ecosystem for Korean performing arts and expand cultural dialogue through the medium of language.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
7 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Demon boy band? These ballet dancers had already cast their spell
Breakout team behind sold-out show mixed heritage with ballet, and struck a chord In the first half of this year, no ballet in Korea stirred up more buzz than 'Gat,' a 70-minute contemporary ballet inspired by traditional Korean hats. Created by the newly established Yunbyul Ballet Company, 'Gat' completed a six-city national tour, selling out every seat along the way — a rare feat for a fledgling company barely a year old. The second run, following its 2024 premiere, drew a wave of fans eager to see the ballerinos who rose to stardom through Mnet's hit dance competition "Stage Fighter." But the excitement didn't stop there. Following the global success of Netflix's animated film 'KPop Demon Hunters,' social media users began drawing comparisons between the film's fictional boy band, the Saja Boys, and the five ballerinos in "Gat." Their playful curtain call — a nod to the demon boy band's signature poses — brought this ghostly ballet back into the spotlight, racking up 1.94 million views on Instagram. At the center of it all are two rising creatives — choreographer Park So-yun and Yun Byul, her longtime dance partner and the company's founder. 'This year, with the national tour and everything, we've been overwhelmed — incredibly busy, but just really happy,' the pair said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. The unexpected journey, they recalled, began with something simple, but with a twist: A ballerina wearing a gat. Ballerinas wearing gat The spark came in 2019 with Netflix's 'Kingdom,' the Korean zombie thriller set in the Joseon era, which ignited a global fascination with traditional Korean hats. Historically, gat refers to a wide range of hat styles worn according to one's social class, profession, or a particular occasion. What's commonly recognized today as gat — the tall, black, wide-brimmed hat — is called "heungnip," traditionally worn by "seonbi," or male scholars. 'But what if a ballerina wore gat?' said Park. 'I thought the strong cultural significance associated with the male seonbi and their virtues would be intriguing when worn by a woman.' Park had long been collecting choreographic ideas, knowing that her debut as a choreographer would take a deeply Korean form. During a casual bus ride with Yun, she shared her concept. As it happened, Yun was organizing a gala. 'I immediately said, 'Let's do it,'' Yun recalled. 'I loved the idea of combining ballet with gat, and I trusted Park could make it work.' The result was an eight-minute group piece for female dancers that premiered in 2021: On the stage, the ballerinas tiptoe slowly with dignified restraint. Their upright posture, accentuated by the hats and en pointe technique, evokes the image of calligraphy brushes or ghostly, Korean-style grim reapers moving through fog. From wanderer's satgat to bride's jokduri From that short piece, 'Gat' naturally expanded into a 70-minute production composed of nine vignettes, each inspired by distinct headwear. Park selected hats with the most vivid imagery. The red jurip worn by Joseon-era military officers becomes a majestic portrait of a female general in a gender-swapping segment. A wide straw "satgat" tells the tale of a lone wanderer, while the humble "paeraengi" (a commoner's hat) becomes a rhythmic, playful dance of traveling merchants. The "jokduri," a delicate bridal coronet, captures the shyness and excitement of a woman before her wedding. One standout scene and a major factor behind the show's success features the "jeongjagwan" (a tall, pointed hat with an upward-curving structure) traditionally associated with fussy schoolmasters or folktale villains like Nolbu. Usually worn indoors by noblemen, it carries strong connotations of wealth and pride. In this segment, three male dancers swagger across the stage, puffing on long pipes. 'Here, I wanted something with arrogant flair — a little hunched, a little mocking, like they don't care. That energy shaped the movement,' said Park. Yet Park encourages audiences to not seek one 'correct' interpretation. 'Even though I created this with specific images in mind, I hope people imagine their own stories. Maybe one scene feels a little sad, or a dancer carries their own story — that imaginative freedom is what makes it fun.' Credit for the company's rising profile also goes to a savvy blend of dance films and active social media. 'It's a turbulent time in the dance world. Dancers can go viral overnight but attention fades just as fast,' said Yun. 'I've performed in nearly empty theaters and in front of thousands. I believe good marketing and good artistry must go hand in hand — each supporting and enhancing the other.' With their debut production a breakout hit, Yun and Park are now focused on shaping their company's identity and brand. 'As a choreographer, I want to challenge the notion that contemporary ballet is boring or inaccessible,' said Park, adding that the most rewarding feedback came from first-time balletgoers. 'People often think only classical ballet sells. But I believe new works like this can actually be more welcoming to audiences who are new to ballet.' Yun said founding his own company led him to let go of the self-focused mindset and start viewing the performance as a cohesive whole. 'Running a company feels like the tycoon game I used to play when I was young,' Yun said. 'The smallest decisions can change everything. How you speak to dancers, the costumes, marketing, show length, venue -- every detail shapes the final outcome.' 'And when the audience recognizes that dedication, it brings a whole new level of fulfillment for us as creators,' they said. The duo's shared goal is captured in the company's motto: 'It's not how much you see. It's how deeply you see.' 'We plan to keep experimenting and continue creating something that is truly our own.' In the coming months, Park will return to the stage as both dancer and choreographer in 'Developpe,' a ballet gala blending original and classical works, at Guro Arts Valley on Aug. 2. Meanwhile, the 'Gat' segment featuring the jeongjagwan will be performed this Saturday at the Jeju International Dance Festival, with a full 'Gat' tour planned for next year.
![[Exclusive] Big Bang's T.O.P talks with CJ ENM for solo comeback](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F07%2F23%2Fnews-p.v1.20250723.e4eb240a0f8b44399674abf91a7bcfb7_T1.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Korea Herald
13 hours ago
- Korea Herald
[Exclusive] Big Bang's T.O.P talks with CJ ENM for solo comeback
Industry source says rapper is considering several partners for solo album slated for late 2025 T.O.P, a former member of K-pop boy band Big Bang, is said to be in discussions with CJ ENM over a potential exclusive contract to support his solo career, according to an industry source Wednesday. The rapper spoke last month about his plans to return as a solo artist this year during a promotional interview with an international media outlet. He is currently not signed to any agency. 'T.O.P is in talks with CJ ENM for a solo contract, including plans for a new solo album scheduled for release in the second half of this year,' the source told The Korea Herald on condition of anonymity. 'But among global music distributors, CJ ENM is just one of several options he is considering.' CJ ENM is a major Korean entertainment company with music subsidiaries under its wing such as WakeOne Entertainment and Stone Music Entertainment. It also operates Lapone Entertainment, a joint venture with the Japanese conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo, known for producing K-pop groups with Japanese members. It remains unclear which specific label under CJ ENM is involved in the talks. When asked for comment, CJ ENM denied any such discussions. 'There have been no talks regarding an exclusive contract or comeback with T.O.P,' a CJ ENM official said. T.O.P parted ways with YG Entertainment in February 2022 after his exclusive contract ended, and in May 2023, he officially withdrew from Big Bang, stating he was entering a new chapter in his life. Since then, he has been pursuing solo activities independently — mostly acting. The rapper-turned-actor made his return to the screen last December in Netflix's 'Squid Game' Season 2, playing a former rapper named 'Thanos.' It marked his first major public appearance since receiving a suspended prison sentence in 2017 for marijuana use — a case that led to a hiatus from the entertainment industry and his eventual departure from Big Bang. In a local interview earlier this year, T.O.P publicly apologized for the controversy, signaling a desire to resume his career. 'For the past 10 years, I've only been going back and forth between my home and my music studio,' he said in January. 'I made a lot of songs. There's no exact release plan yet, but I do have something in mind for the near future." While he has yet to release any new music, fans have been anticipating a musical comeback. His most recent solo release was the single 'Doom Dada,' which dropped in November 2013. Meanwhile, Big Bang is set to mark its 20th anniversary next year. The iconic group first burst onto the K-pop scene in August 2006 and went on to become one of its most influential acts.
Korea Herald
15 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Korean selected as guest language of 2026 Avignon Festival
Next year's French festival to spotlight performing arts beyond K-culture hype The Avignon Festival, one of the world's most vibrant performing arts festivals, announced Wednesday that it has selected Korean as its official guest language for the 2026 edition. This is the first time an Asian language has been chosen as the guest language. 'The Avignon Festival welcomes an Asian language that is now enjoying worldwide popularity. South Korean culture fascinates the world: K-pop, cinema, series, literature. But beyond this soft power, we want to show the richness of Korean performing arts,' the Avignon Festival said in its announcement on Facebook on Tuesday. Held annually in July in the historic city of Avignon, the festival, founded in 1947, attracts more than 100,000 visitors and showcases performances spanning theater, dance, music and interdisciplinary works. The guest language initiative was introduced by current artistic director Tiago Rodrigues to spotlight the arts and culture of a specific linguistic region. The previous guest languages were English (2023), Spanish (2024) and Arabic (2025). With the guest language selected, a slew of Korean theater works are expected to be invited to the festival's IN (main) program. The Korea Arts Management Service, as the official partner, is working closely with the Avignon Festival on a co-curated program. Whereas the OFF section is open to independent participation, the IN program is curated by the festival. This will mark the first time in 28 years that Korean works are officially invited to the IN program, following the 1998 'Desire of Asia (Desir d'Asie)' project. Rodrigues' decision follows his visit to Korea in October 2023, when he attended the Seoul Performing Arts Festival, organized by KAMS. During the trip, he also performed his work "By Heart," a piece centered on memorizing poetry. "There's something about the power of trying to translate, trying to understand the other, which is extremely important nowadays in theater — but also in society,' Rodrigues said in the 2023 interview with The Korea Herald. 'This is a rare opportunity to share the emotional depth, experimental energy and spirit of Korean performing arts with the world,' said Kim Jang-ho, president of KAMS. 'Through continued exchange between Avignon and SPAF, we aim to strengthen the international ecosystem for Korean performing arts and expand cultural dialogue through the medium of language.'
