Staff reporter
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. But that same year the country also established diplomatic relations with Spain.
Korea's special tie with Spain seems to go further back in time. The first Westerner to arrive on the Korean Peninsula was a Spaniard in the late 16th century, according to one Korean scholar, Kwak Jae-sung, a professor at Kyung Hee University, which is one of the two local institutes of higher education with a Spanish department in Seoul.
Today, the two countries share an increasingly dynamic exchange in the cultural sphere, with Spanish flamenco having long established its place among popular seasonal performances here. Earlier this month, a Korean dancer-choreographer, Jung Bo-kyung, brought home the top prize at the ACT Festival, a performing arts event held annually in Bilbao, Spain.
In time for the anniversary, more top Korean artists are dancing their way across Spain. The Korean Dance Express in Spain kicked off on June 24 in the representative street dance festival LEKUS LEKU in Bilbao. Modern dancers made their way through another dance festival, Trayectos Zaragoza, and held a special showcase of Korean contemporary dance at the University of Las Palmas. They will continue the tour from July 1 to 5 at the Dies de Dansa Festival in Barcelona.
In particular the dancers hosted a special showcase of Korean modern dance at the University of Las Palmas.
Participants of the tour include Kim Sunmee, who is known for her intriguing new interpretations of old Korean shamanist dances, Buddhist ritual dances as well as folk and traditional dances. Also making appearances are the Belgian-based artist Lee Eun-kyung and the Park Soon-ho Dance Project, which has performed at Mercat de les Flores in Barcelona. Han Sun-mi and Ye Hyo-seung of Ballet C de la B and Kim Seol-jin of the Peeping Tom dance company are also showing their repertoire.
The event was organized when Lee Jong-ho, head of the Korean branch of the UNESCO International Dance Council (CID UNESCO), visited Spain last year as a judge for MASDANZA, an international contemporary dance festival in the Canary Islands.
''When Lee spoke to heads of the Spanish dance festivals about initiating a Korea-Spain exchange, the Spanish organizers were initially reluctant to invite the Korean dance troupes, because they are relatively unknown in Europe and it is costly. This event however is expected to promote contemporary Korean dance in the Spanish art scene and contribute to Korea-Spain relations,'' said CID-UNESCO Korea in a statement.
The event is supported by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korea Foundation and Spanish Embassy to Seoul in partnership with Spain's LEKUS LEKU Festival, Trayectos Zaragoza, Dies de Dansa Festival and MASDANZA.