Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago

Description

The Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago (KPAC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and developing Korean traditional performing arts--preserve by providing authentic performances and sharing our knowledge with others; promote by continuously reaching out to new audiences of all backgrounds; and develop by creating new music through experimentation and collaboration. KPAC is able to ensure authentic, high-quality performances and instruction through its staff of professional artists from South Korea. KPAC Artists specialize in Korean folk drumming forms, as well as folk and court music forms for wind and string instruments. Not only dedicated to preserving traditional music, KPAC artists often collaborate with other artists and organizations in order to expand the creative domain of Korean music, make Korean music more accessible to new audiences, and promote cross-cultural understanding between communities. Today, KPAC has a team of 10 Korean music professionals working to fulfill its mission. In addition to year-round classes, KPAC delivers approximately 80 presentations (including performances, workshops, and lectures) to 25,000 people annually in Chicago and beyond.

Work Sample

Sangmo Pankut - This is a sample of our folk drumming repertory. We have various folk drumming and dance pieces including Binari (a prayer-chant accompanied by drums), Samulnori (a seated piece featuring the four core percussion instruments), Seoljanggu (a seated piece featuring the double-headed hourglass drum), Lion Dance, and Sangmo Pankut (the danced piece you see here, featuring spinning ribbon hats). These pieces can be arranged to run anywhere from 5 to 15 min each. A full presentation of our drumming repertory typically runs from 40 minutes to an hour.

Banghwang - This is a sample of a more contemporary piece played with traditional instruments. While we specialize in traditional folk drumming, our artists are also versed in other instruments and genres of music. This specific piece runs 4 minutes.

Daegeum Sanjo - This is a sample of our traditional instrumental music. We have artists who are masters of folk and court music styles on wind and string instruments. Sanjo, specifically, refers to improvisational solo music. This specific piece runs 8 minutes.

KPAC specializes in Korean folk and professional drumming and dance, of which Sangmo Pankut (Work Sample 1) may be the best example. However, we also have artists who specialize in wind and string music (Work Sample 3). They are well-versed in both folk and court music styles. Finally, our artists perform not only traditional music, but also contemporary music (Work Sample 2) and even original compositions not shown here.

History

Founded in 2013 as a Korean drumming program for Korean American youth, KPAC began hosting Artists in Residence and expanding its artistic projects from 2014. In 2019, KPAC added instrumental (wind and string) music to its programming. In 2020, KPAC launched virtual classes and performances as a strategy to maintain its capacity and reach. Today, KPAC’s high-caliber team of 10 Korean music professionals delivers year-round classes and approximately 80 presentations (performances, workshops, lectures, etc.) to 25,000 people across Illinois annually.

Artistic Vision

KPAC's mission is to preserve, promote, and develop Korean traditional performing arts--preserve by providing authentic performances and sharing our knowledge with others; promote by continuously reaching out to new audiences of all backgrounds; and develop by creating new music through experimentation and collaboration.

Programs for Specific Audience(s) Expertise

K-12 students - We provide year-round classes to local K-12 students in folk drumming and instrumental music. In the 2021-2022 school year, we have provided weekly drumming classes to primarily non-Korean students at two Chicago public elementary schools (Azuela and Sawyer). Through our partnership with Urban Gateways, we have also performed for many other public schools throughout Chicago.

Korean Adoptees - During the summers, we travel around the Midwest to perform and teach at culture camps for Korean adoptees to help them learn more about their heritage in a fun, safe, low-stakes environment. We now also provide year-round classes to youth and adult adoptees online.

Colleges - Many colleges invite KPAC to provide a performance, lecture, workshop, or some combination of the three. Most recently, we have presented at University of Illinois Chicago, Carthage College, Roosevelt University, and Northern Illinois University.

General/Large Audiences - KPAC has performed widely at large venues and events in and beyond Chicago. For example, we have performed at Navy Pier, Daley Plaza, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, and the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Traditional Folk/Ethnic Artform Statement

While KPAC repertory includes all genres of Korean traditional music, including folk and court music, it was originally founded as a pungmul group. Pungmul is Korean folk drumming and dance. It involves four main percussion instruments: kkwaenggwari (small gong), jing (large gong), janggu (hourglass drum), and buk (barrel drum). The two gongs signify the heavens, while the two leather drums signify earth. The playing of these instruments thus signifies the harmony of the heavens and the earth, of nature and man, of yin and yang. Pungmul was added to the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014.

This ancient form, dating back to the 1300s, places great importance on a sense of shared identity among community members. It was once the most widespread genre of music in Korea, a part of everyday village life closely entwined with the contexts of labor, fundraising, ritual, and celebration. In pungmul, there was no hard distinction between performer and audience, between generations, and between genders. Everyone was a welcome participant, and the music brought the whole village together. Today, we are using pungmul for the same purpose--to bring people of all kinds together.