What is Korean Culture Night?

Korean Culture Night (KCN) is an annual stage production hosted by Hanoolim at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). For over twenty years, this event has educated UCLA students and the Los Angeles community about Korean and Korean American culture through various forms of the performing arts. Our goal is to raise cultural awareness, promote multiculturalism, and provide an annual event where students and members of the local community can converge and celebrate the achievements of Koreans and Korean Americans.

The three-hour show features a live play integrated with traditional drumming, traditional dance, modern dance, and original music, all tied together by a common theme specially chosen for that specific year. The theme ranges from past and present social and political issues to aspects of traditional and modern culture. It is a common goal of the theme to reflect not only upon student perspectives, but American society as well.

For information on past shows, please read below.




Preparation

The production is led by Hanoolim, a student organization founded at UCLA to promote Korean cultural awareness. Over eighty students work on the production throughout the school year, writing, designing, and choreographing original material. The work culminates in a grand performance in Spring, with over 1,800 attendees at the prestigious UCLA Royce Hall. Korean Culture Night remains the single largest student project at UCLA that brings together a diverse group of Korean students to collaborate and combine their skills into one cohesive product. Furthermore, KCN has grown to become the highest regarded and well-received Korean student-run production in the nation.

 










KCN 2008
Jung

Taking place in current day Korea Town, our story is about a boy named Jung, an awkward high school teen, who quite literally falls head over heels for Gail, the new girl at school. When all of his attempts to impress her go awry and his ill conceived plan to join the poongmul team turns out for the worst, Jung is humiliated and begins to question the relationship he has with his mom who he blames as the source of his troubles. As Jung struggles to find his place in the world, Mr. Shin, an old family friend, reveals that he was once a grand master poongmul player and begins to teach Jung what it truly means to play and, eventually, what it means to be a son named Jung. With immense obstacles looming over his path and a hot headed adversary blocking his way, in the end, it is solely up to Jung whether he will sit down and hide or stand up and play.

KCN 2007
The Forgotten War - original play

The Korean War is referred to in many textbooks as "The Forgotten War." Part dramatic play and part documentary, this year's Korean Culture Night remembers and explores the grim reality of the war that ravaged Korea and remains unresolved to this day. The stories of five main characters, all civilians in the war, are told to portray the war from the perspectives of the people that might have been our grandmothers and grandfathers, our aunts and uncles. The relationships between a political leader and his son, a pregnant woman and her soldier husband, and a struggling young student couple are tested against the pressures of civil war. Their identities, loyalties, beliefs, and loves are all put to the test in the face of massive tragedy and destruction. As their journeys unfold, will their lives come out scarred beyond repair or strengthened from the lessons that war has taught them?

KCN 2006
True Colors -original play


A Korean American adoptee, Katy, falls in love with her student, an artist named Elijah. The ensuing relationship unravels her family past and pushes the boundaries of her self-identity. Finally, at the end, Katy realizes what will allow her to get past her problems and be satisfied with her life. What she finds the most difficult to deal with in life becomes her most enjoyable and notable experience. The production features not only a talented cast but also traditional Korean drumming, traditional Korean dancing, modern dancing, original music played by a live band, and beautifully designed sets.

KCN 2005
The Tale of Changsu - original musical


Changsu, a young servant of the royal palace during the Goryeo Dynasty, is forced to abandon his elderly mother in the forest because of a law enacted by King Daesong to reduce the impact of a devastating famine. Unable to bring himself to let his mother die, he decides to break the law and bring food to her in the forest periodically, putting his life at risk. Meanwhile, the palace is in danger of being attacked by their enemy, the Jurchen, so King Daesong orders his daughter, Princess Mina, to protect herself by posing as a servant. Changsu hopelessly falls in love with her, not knowing her true royal identity. In an effort to save his doomed mother and marry the love he cannot have, Changsu gets lured into a dangerous adventure in a world of iron-fisted rulers, greedy aristocrats, and deadly assassins.