The Korean Cultural Centre, Consulate General of Korea in Toronto and the Embassy of Korea proudly present National Gugak Center’s Kokdu: A Story of Guardian Angels, a film concert with live traditional music performance, produced by the National Gugak Center and Kirin Productions.

[Toronto]

Date: 6.21(Fri)

Time: 19:30 (Door open from 18:45)

Venue: Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge St, North York, ON)

Reservation: RSVP HERE 

Inquiry: torontoculture@mofa.go.kr

[Ottawa]

Date: 6.25 (Tue)

Time: 19:30 (Doors open from 18:45)

Venue: Canadian Museum of History, Theatre (100 rue Laurier, Gatineau, QC)

Reservation: RSVP HERE 

Inquiry: canada@korea.kr

The event features live accompaniment performed by a 20-member ensemble from the National Gugak Center (NGC), the representative headquarters of Korean traditional performing arts, who will be playing the score for the first time in Canada.

Melding fantasy and reality, Kokdu weaves between cinematic storytelling and an impressively staged theatrical piece as it explores Korean myths and traditions while dealing deftly with dark themes of death and mourning, with a poignant and ultimately uplifting touch. As a spectacle, not only does Kokdu brim with music and dance, it makes the challenging topic of our mortality accessible to audiences of all ages.

Director Tae-yong Kim of the critically acclaimed Late Autumn (2011), Music Director Jun-Seok Bang of Korean box-office hits such as Along with the Gods (2017, 2018), and the National Gugak Center have joined forces to bridge art forms and build a unique, heartwarming story of loss and redemption, steeped in local Korean folklore but with a universal appeal.

Kokdu premiered to acclaim at the 2018 Busan International Film Festival and was NGC’s “best-selling show” of 2017 and 2018. Recently, Kokdu was presented at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival as a part of the Generation KPlus lineup. 

Synopsis:

This heartwarming story of selfishness, loss, grief and redemption follows two children, Su-min and Dong-min, who sell their grandmother's shoes in exchange for a puppy. As they realize their fault and search for their grandmother's shoes, they accidentally end up going to the underworld where they encounter a mischievous band of living Kokdu, the wooden figurines that guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife. 

[About National Gugak Centre]

National Gugak Centre has been the primary institution to perform and perpetuate traditional music for more than one thousand years. The roots of National Gugak Center can be traced back to the Royal Music Institute of the Silla Dynasty (BC 57- AD 935). Through the intervening dynasties, the royal music institutes have played a key role to preserve not only court music but also many other genres of traditional performing arts. Since the establishment of National Gugak Centre in 1951, it has preserved and promoted Korean traditional music at home and abroad.

National Gugak Center will continue to inherit and cultivate traditional performing art forms filled with the philosophy of a pure Korean art tradition – a belief that we must strive for a peaceful life which can be achieved in a world without war, prejudice, or pollution; where heave, earth, mankind, and all creatures harmonize. In addition to promoting the arts of our own country, we are committed to support other cultural arts of the world. To this end, we will put forth our best efforts to satisfy humankind’s eternal desire for happiness and to achieve an open global community.